


Cheap Thrills

by WolfBrigade



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, High School AU, No Angst, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, general teenage shenanigans, hans is a decent person, kristoff is a walking pun, rebel/good girl au, summer time fun, the damaging effects of bleach on plants and hair, toublemaker au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 20:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5429453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfBrigade/pseuds/WolfBrigade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be simple; Anna was going to kickstart the summer before her senior year by vandalizing the principal's yard. It shouldn't matter that his daughter's garden becomes collateral damage, yet Anna finds herself trying to make things right with the uptight and closed off girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is partly inspired by the prompt, 'Me and my buddies vandalized your backyard trampling your mini garden in the process. Now I feel really shitty cause you're really upset about this. Look I'll help fix it okay just stop with the sad faces.' Expect nothing but summer fun and some enjoyable romance!

Anna and Hans give each other a silent fist bump as they take their first steps into the principal's backyard. And what a nice yard it is; a great oak tree stands in the center, and a brick path meanders around the property and leads to an artificial pond filled with koi. A small garden full of different flowers and vegetables Anna isn't familiar with is pushed to the back corner, near where she and Hans entered from.

"Let's give Anders his 'last day of school' gift," Anna says as she shrugs off her backpack. "After all, we'll miss him this summer."

"I won't," Hans mutters under his breath. His parents are making him take summer classes to better fluff up his college applications, as well as play student ambassador for the incoming freshmen. While he certainly doesn't look the part of 'malcontent teen'—what with his designer clothes and perfect grades—he's usually the one who takes the most pleasure in their illegal activities.

"Dibs on the tree!" Anna points excitedly at the oak in question, hoping to cheer Hans up. "I wanna do the tree."

He smirks at her enthusiasm, seemingly pushing away his thoughts of summer. "Go for it. Just remember that we only have an hour or so."

Right. One hour until Anders gets back from some school board meeting, one hour until he'll flip his shit when he sees what they've done to his precious yard.

She and Hans quickly get down to business—he takes a giant jug of bleach from Anna's bag and starts to carefully pour it around the tree. Anna gets a good grip on some of the one-ply toilet paper she bought earlier and takes careful aim.

By the time they're finished, the once majestic oak is covered liberally in gauzy toilet paper and the area around its trunk is bleached into the shape of Arendelle High's logo; a giant, supposedly menacing snowman.

Hans and Anna step back and admire their work. "It's beautiful," Anna breathes, wiping away a fake tear. "I think we really captured the spirit of our school."

"A-plus for execution," Hans nods in agreement. "Your aim has really improved this semester—you even hit the top branches."

"And your pouring technique..." Anna clutches dramatically at her heart through her shirt, "it's so powerful, so full of emotion."

Hans snorts. "Yeah, the emotion being 'I hate this fucking place'. Glad it came across clearly."

The fun ends—or really begins, in Anna's opinion—when they hear a car pull into Anders' driveway. Anna throws a silent victory hand in the air and allows Hans to catch it and drag her towards the fence. But Anna digs her feet into the ground when she realizes Hans left the bleach by the tree. What is this, amateur hour?

"What are you doing?" Hans hisses when a light comes on in the house. "It's not like they're going to brush it for prints."

Anna snatches the bottle anyway and hurries back towards him. "If you start getting lazy, it sets a bad precedent—" her lecture is cut short when her foot tangles in the wire surrounding the garden.

She flails as the ground comes up to meet her, letting go of the bleach so she can try to catch herself. The landing is still rough and she feels thorns scraping against her palms. Nearby, there's a faint glug glug sound as the bleach empties out of its container and into the surrounding plants.

Before she can grab the bottle again, Hans is hauling her up and over the fence. "Leave it!" He joins her on the other side just as the door to the backyard slides open, and they both peer through the slats in the wooden fence to see the principal's reaction.

Principal Anders steps out onto the patio, looking formal as always with his pressed pants, crisp white shirt, and dark blazer. "What in god's name…" he starts, gaping at the tree.

Anna clamps a hand to her mouth, trying to hold back a peal of laughter. Beside her, Hans is breathing hard from their close call but a smile slowly forms on his face as Anders notices the bleached grass.

The man pulls out his cellphone and runs an aggravated hand through his hair. "Yes, I'd like to report a crime," he says through gritted teeth. Anna and Hans share another fist bump.

Movement near the door draws Anna's gaze and she finds herself staring at Elsa Anders. The girl is dressed conservatively in a blue blouse and a white skirt that goes past her knees, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She takes in the sight of the ravaged yard with a neutral expression until she spots the bleach container in the garden.

Even though Anna knows next to nothing about Elsa, the look on the other girl's face is still a sucker punch to her gut. The girl is colloquially known as the 'Ice Queen' around school because of how silently condescending she is, choosing to eat and do class activities by herself rather than mixing with everyone else. But now she sees Elsa's eyes widen and her lips part as she assess the damage of what must be her garden. She kneels down to pick up the now-empty bleach jug, her grip tightening around the handle.

Anna shifts slightly, some of her enjoyment beginning to dissipate at the sight of Elsa. The movement causes the grass beneath her to rustle, and Elsa jerks her head up at the sound. Stormy blue eyes lock onto her own through the wooden slats, causing Anna's heart to feel like it's somewhere in her throat.

Shit.

She doesn't waste another moment; she's halfway down the street before Hans even realizes she's not by his side anymore.

They're back at Hans' place twenty minutes later, both of them panting over the kitchen table. "What the hell was that about?" Hans asks, wiping sweat away from the back of his neck.

"She saw me," Anna answers between gasps, trying not to freak out. "Elsa saw me through the fence. Do you think she'll point the cops in our direction?" There's only a handful of redheaded girls at their school and she's the only one among them who likes to play chicken with the law.

Hans grimaces, his hands curling into fists on top of the table. "I'm not sure," he says in a calmer voice than Anna expected. "She doesn't know us at all, right? And maybe she didn't really see you."

It sure looked like she did. "What should we do?" Anna bites anxiously at her bottom lip. Her mom would kill her if she had to be picked up from juvie one more time.

"Just stay away from their house, I guess," Hans suggests, running a hand through his auburn hair in thought. "There's really not much we can do—it's not like we can bribe the Ice Queen."

But the words have Anna perking up. "What if we could?" she wonders aloud. When Hans gives her a questioning look, she elaborates, "She only saw me because we were right next to that little garden of hers. The bleach I dropped probably killed most of the plants there. Maybe I could buy some flowers for her or something."

Hans expels a dismissive snort. "And then what, wine and dine her?"

"I don't see you coming up with anything!" Anna says defensively. Whatever, she's definitely onto something with this idea.

"That's because I don't think she saw me," Hans points out, moving to get some soda out of his fridge. He tosses a bottle of root beer towards Anna, who snatches it out of the air before it has the chance to hit her head. "This is your problem, not mine."

"You suck," Anna mutters around the rim of her bottle. It was his fault she was even in this position—if it weren't for that stupid bleach jug he forgot to pick up, they would both be in the clear.

"I'm not the one who got caught," Hans replies. With an irritating smirk, he adds, "Looks like you'll have to brush up on your botany."

Anna waves her hand in a dismissive fashion. "Whatever, they're just plants. You stick them in the ground and put some water on them. How hard could it be?"

* * *

Elsa doesn't care about the tree or the grass around it, even though her dad's acting like it's an absolute travesty they got vandalized. While he curses and dials the number for the police, Elsa is drawn to her garden, a twisting sensation churning in her stomach.

She sees the empty bottle of bleach first, tipped on its side. She smells it next—the dizzying, almost overpowering scent of chemicals seeping into the soil, choking the roots and seeds and life underneath it.

They were gone for less than two hours. How could somebody have done so much damage to her dad's yard, to her garden during that time? She had spent months selecting and planting seeds, studying what could grow in a mixed garden and what she would have to plant separately. She came out here every day to water her plants, to check on the progress of her flowers, herbs, and vegetables. It had been her place of peace and quiet when the house became suffocating under the weight of her dad's expectations.

Now all of that was gone. Destroyed.

Poisoned.

It was obvious someone from school had vandalized the yard—the giant snowman bleached into the grass was evidence enough of that—but Elsa couldn't pinpoint a suspect until she picked up that damn bleach bottle and heard a noise coming from the other side of the fence.

When she looked up, she found herself staring right into someone's large, teal eyes. A pang of familiarity strikes at Elsa's chest, but the sensation is quick to pass when the criminal bolts.

Hours later, Elsa's sitting at her desk, staring out the window that overlooks the backyard. It's pitch black, which is probably a good thing because otherwise she'd see her ruined garden. She absentmindedly taps her highlighter against the pages of Cold Mountain—number four on the list of college lit books her dad suggested she get through before senior year starts. But her attention is elsewhere, beyond the pages of the book.

She still can't stop thinking about those beautiful eyes.

More than that, she can't stop thinking about who those beautiful eyes are attached to. Because there was also a few loose strands of hair going across the person's forehead. Soft, copper hair that could only belong to the one person in the entire school who would do something so vile.

Anna fucking Kicklighter.

Oh, Elsa knows all about that little delinquent, even though they've never spoken a single word to each other. She's heard every known exploit of the girl from her dad over the dinner table; how she locked Mr. Weselton in a supply closet and taught his Western Civ class for three periods straight, how she played a recording of pornographic noises over the speakers during a pep rally, how she superglued all the senior lockers shut on their prank day.

Her dad knew Kicklighter was responsible for all those incidents, but never had enough proof to do more than give her detention or an occasional suspension. The girl would probably cause him to have an ulcer or stroke due to stress. What made it even worse was that she was considered popular by her peers. Apparently all it takes is above-average looks and a fondness for illegal activities to be well liked.

Popularity had never been a concern of Elsa's; she never sought it out and had no intention of ever doing so. Being the principal's daughter already made her an outsider, and thanks to how incredibly strict her dad was, anyone who ever did something even remotely against the rules tended to avoid her. The rare students that did try to befriend her did so in order get her dad's attention, presumably to weasel their way into a letter of recommendation for their college applications.

Elsa finds it easier to keep to herself.

Being alone with her thoughts was so much simpler than trying to fit in with her classmates. She didn't have to worry about liking the right songs, hanging out at the right places, or wearing the right clothes. All she had to do was focus on her grades until she couldn't think straight anymore.

She's brought out of her thoughts when she sees a flash of light outside her window. Squinting, she leans forwards and sees it again, this time accompanied by a shadow cast against the fence.

Someone is in the backyard again, and Elsa thinks she knows exactly who it is.

She slams her book shut and marches her way outside, careful not to cause any noise when she passes her dad's room. Sliding open the back door, she slows her pace as she comes near the figure, who is kneeling over Elsa's garden.

The person is busy doing something to the soil, one hand gripping a flashlight. "Who are you?" Elsa demands when she's right behind them.

"Holy shit!" the figure squeaks, throwing up their hands in surprise. The flashlight goes whizzing past Elsa's head. "Are you actually a ninja?!"

They turn around and Elsa's suspicions are confirmed; Anna Kicklighter is once again trespassing in her garden. "Haven't you ruined enough already?" Elsa nearly growls, pretty sure that in her current state she could take on the troublemaker in a fight.

Anna stands up awkwardly, wiping her hands against her jeans. "I wasn't trying to ruin anything...not here, at least." Her gazes shifts back to the soil. "This...kinda just happened. I umm, I wanted to plant some flowers and stuff."

Anna looks strangely...vulnerable standing here and rubbing at the back of her neck. "You wanted to plant flowers?" Elsa echoes flatly, trying not to buy into this whole 'cute delinquent' act Anna is pulling.

"That's what I said, right?" Anna kneels back down and picks up a wrapped item for Elsa to inspect.

Confused and still a bit angry, Elsa takes a step closer. In Anna's hand is a bouquet of cut flowers, looking exactly like the kind one would buy in a grocery store. Elsa looks at them for a long moment before saying, "You know flowers need roots to grow, right?"

Anna stares blankly down at the bouquet. "...yes?"

Even though this whole thing is completely Anna's fault, Elsa can't help but smirk in amusement. "You can't just stick flowers with no roots into the ground and expect them to grow, especially when that ground is full of bleach. What are you really after?"

Anna's reddening cheeks are visible even in the dark. "Look, we both know you saw me earlier," she starts, not a trace of guilt in her voice. "I take full responsibility for the rest of the yard, but nothing was supposed to happen to your garden. I wanted to replant the stuff that the bleach got on. Make it look okay."

"And why is that?" Elsa asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was kinda hoping you wouldn't tell your dad about me. I'm pretty sure he would try to get me twenty five-to-life for murdering the yard." There's no real fear in the words, as if she's asking a favor for a friend. It's bizarre, to say the least.

Elsa considers her her request carefully. On one hand, she would be able to see Anna get hauled off (or at least in a lot of trouble) for ruining her garden. On the other hand, there's something almost...magnetic about the other girl. Her nonchalance and laid-back attitude are unintentionally drawing Elsa in, and she can't help but want to see more of her, especially since she won't have anyone else her own age to interact with this summer.

(The fact that Anna is practically her dad's mortal enemy has nothing to do with it...nothing at all.)

She makes her decision a few moments later. "I won't tell him about you," she says, feeling surprisingly satisfied when she receives a small smile...which is quick to drop when she continues, "In return, I want you to help me make a new garden. You'll be with me when I buy the supplies, pick out the seeds, and build the barrier around it."

"Oh," Anna says in a small, subdued voice. One of her sneakered feet pokes at the soil. "You can't just use the same area?"

"Once bleach enters a garden, it kills everything in it." It's not a lie per se, just an exaggeration. Besides, now she has an excuse to buy some new plants.

Anna levels a thoughtful stare at her. "Okay," she shrugs after a minute, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her phone. "I'll help you out. Can I have your number? That way you can tell me when to come over."

Elsa's taken back by how easily she agreed. "O-okay," she repeats unsurely. There's a pause and Anna raises an eyebrow in prompting. "Right, my number," Elsa says, trying to inject some confidence into her voice. She lists it off and Anna types it into her phone.

There's more awkward staring after that, until Anna's mouth tilts into a lopsided smile. "Text me whenever. I'll make myself available." With that, she walks past Elsa to snatch her flashlight from earlier and begins to climb over the fence. When she has one leg on either side, she adds, "Feel free to keep those flowers; I'm not going to do anything with them."

By the time Elsa nods and bends down to pick them up, Anna has vanished.

Elsa walks back into the house in slightly higher spirits than when she left it. Anna's bouquet is quickly deposited in a vase filled with water, and she situates it on the corner of her desk.

Her phone vibrates from its spot on the bed, and when Elsa opens it she sees a text from an unknown number simply reading 'ANNA' in all caps. An unbidden smile crosses her face at the sight; one of the most notorious troublemakers in Arendelle High's history is going to help her with gardening.

Summer break is certainly looking up.

* * *

"You did what?!" Hans exclaims, looking away the tv screen and towards Anna in total surprise. In response, his Yoshi promptly topples off Rainbow Road. "Why the hell would you give her your number?"

Anna simply shrugs, not allowing him to break her concentration. She's going to win this round, dammit. "It seemed like a decent idea at the time. I doubt she'll actually want my help." She clearly isn't the gardening type, something Elsa probably realized five seconds into their conversation.

"This means you're basically at her beck and call," Hans persists, cursing under his breath as Yoshi gets hit with a green shell. "She can blackmail the hell out of you if she wanted to."

"She's not like that!" Anna protests. Sure, that's a premature assumption to make since she's only had one interaction with her, but it feels right somehow. Elsa's only interest seemed to lie in her garden. For some reason, the idea of helping her doesn't grate against her nerves as much as she thought it would.

Last night's talk with Elsa had certainly been interesting. She tried so hard to come off as cold and angry, but seemed so flustered when she actually got Anna's number. It was...almost cute. Anna's not entirely sure how she could be the offspring of Principal 'Stick Up My Ass' Anders.

"Yes!" she whoops a minute later when she wins the track. She shakes Hans around the shoulders as he mutters darkly at his controller, having never been one to lose graciously.

Her mom happens to come through the door right in the middle of Anna's victory lap around the living room. "Hey kids," she greets them tiredly as she heads into the kitchen. "You two haven't set anything on fire today, have you?"

"Of course not, Ms. Kicklighter," Hans says with an easy smile, attitude turning on a dime. He always did have a soft spot for Anna's mom, probably because his own was never around. "We save arson for Sundays."

"I'd expect nothing less from you," she responds as she begins to heat up some leftovers. "Anna, I'm only here for a couple hours; I have to go back to the hospital to cover for someone. You can hold down the fort by yourself, right?"

"Mom, I've seventeen," Anna groans dramatically. This is far from the first time she's been home alone at night, but her mom always double checks with her regardless.

"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble," Hans assures her, looking so innocent he might as well have a halo shining around his head.

"Speaking of trouble…" her mom starts, causing Anna to stiffen minutely. "I heard your principal's house got vandalized yesterday. You guys wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Hans opens his mouth to respond but Anna starts talking first. "Of course not! Why would we do such a thing?" She nudges at Hans. "We were at your place all day, right?"

He obliges her with a nod. "Yep. A couple of my brothers are back from college and we were hanging out with them until it got late." Will and Charlie were actually back from their posh universities and didn't care if they were used as alibis; nearly all of Hans' brothers were into mischief of their own and were happy their youngest brother was following in their footsteps.

Anna's mom side eyes them as she settles onto the couch. "Mmhmm," she hums doubtfully. "That had better be true, because I would hate to see either one of you end up in trouble again. Especially you, Anna. I don't like that I'm on first name basis with all the officers around here. You won't be a kid forever—life will get a whole lot harder when you turn eighteen and keep causing trouble."

"I told you we didn't do it!" Anna protests, feeling frustrated despite—or maybe because—her mom is right on the money. She doesn't want this lecture, no matter how well-deserved it might be.

"Alright," her mom sighs, holding up a hand in surrender. "I'll drop it for now. Just try to keep your noses clean this summer, okay?"

Hans and Anna murmur their assent before turning back to their game. "Ready to lose again?" Anna asks playfully as she picks a new racetrack, trying to push her mom's words out of her mind.

"Don't count on it," Hans retorts, gripping his controller tightly. "You're going down this time."

Anna's mom watches them as she eats, alternatively cheering both of them on and then giving Anna a high five when she she inevitably wins again. "Alright, I'm off," she says after she finishes her dinner. She stands up and gives Anna a kiss on the head and squeezes Hans' shoulder. "Don't stay up too late."

Anna turns and gives her a grin. "We'll behave. Have a good night!"

Her mom nods as she grabs her keys. Pausing before she opens the door, she says, "Could you add 'bleach' to the grocery list? It seems like we ran out of it last night."

Anna's smile fades. "Sure thing, mom," she answers weakly even as her mom closes and locks the door.

Beside her, Hans' eyes are wide with surprise. "I think we just got played."


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa bites nervously at her lower lip as she continues to pace around her room. Her phone is in hand, a text waiting to be sent. The cursor blinks expectantly, ready for her to either add more words or be delivered to Anna's phone.

- _Meet me at Siren's Coffee tomorrow morning at 9_

That doesn't sound too weird, right? If anything, it almost sounds like she's asking Anna on a  _date_ , which is...simply preposterous. Absurd, even. Anyways, she's sure Anna would be a terrible date—trying to act all tough, scoffing at the shop's interior, turning her nose up at anything that isn't bitter, black coffee.

Because that's what delinquents  _do_ , according to her dad. They put on a huge show of being 'subversive, destructive, and unapologetic' _—_ the phrase he always used in relation to Anna or any of her friends. Judging from her behavior yesterday, Anna fits at least two of those descriptors.

"Oh, this is stupid," she mutters to herself, finally mustering up the resolve to press 'send'. She exhales, trying to stop her heart from beating so fast. She's not asking Anna on a date; there is a very legitimate reason to meet at the coffee shop, one that doesn't actually involve  _drinking_ coffee.

Though if they happen to order drinks and sit down together, she wouldn't complain too much.

 _Snap out of it_ , she vehemently shakes her head.  _You've only had_ one  _conversation with her, there's no reason to be excited to see her again. And who's to say this isn't another prank of hers? She probably won't even reply—_

And of course that's the moment she receives a text from Anna.

- _sure thing flower girl :)_

Well that's...huh. A much nicer response than she would have assumed. Not one hint of reluctance or annoyance, plus she got a nickname and a  _smiley face._

Her lips curve into a smile and she holds the phone to her chest for a moment before remembering herself. Why has she suddenly turned into a giddy girl at the prospect of meeting with Anna Kicklighter, of all people?

Subversive, destructive, unapologetic.

That's all Kicklighter is. She has to remember why she's even meeting with her in the first place—has to remember the toilet paper still stuck in the tree's branches, the bleach staining the grass and killing the plants in her garden.

The purpose of this whole thing is to create a beautiful new garden to replace the one Anna destroyed. She's not going to have fun or enjoy her time in Anna's company. This is purely business. Nothing more, nothing less.

If only she can convince her fluttering nerves of that.

* * *

9am in the summer might as well be dawn, Anna decides as she rubs residual sleepiness from her eyes. She's somehow four minutes early to  _Siren's_ , despite having to bike a few miles to get here. She readjusts her black hat so the brim is backwards on her head, and makes her way into the shop after locking up her bike.

She's never been to this particular coffee shop before and she looks around in interest. It's small and chic, with plush sofas and soft indie music playing through hidden speakers. Most of the patrons don't pay her any mind, but there are a few who curl their lips at the sight of her torn jeans and general sweatiness.

Oh right,  _this_ is why she doesn't like coming to this side of town. It might have the nicer shops and attractions, but the people tended to be privileged dicks.

She spots the back of Elsa's head—the plaited, white-gold hair is certainly hard to miss—and begins to make the short journey over to her. The closer she gets, the more she can appreciate how her braid is swept to the side, exposing the back of her neck. It's a nice neck, if Anna has anything to say about it. Long and smooth and pale, with maybe even the tiniest of freckles dancing across its surface.

Anna rubs at her eyes again, wondering how tired she really is to be thinking such weird things. Maybe she should cut back on the all-night gaming sessions with Hans.

"Hey," she greets Elsa once she's thinking clearly again, plopping down in the chair across from her.

The simple word is enough to make Elsa startle. She looks up from the book she was reading, naked surprise showing on her face. "You're on time," she states in lieu of a greeting, closing the book with a snap.

"Yeah, I do that occasionally," Anna replies sardonically, swinging one of her legs over the arm of the chair. "So...why are we here?"

When she got Elsa's text last night, she had been equal parts confused and intrigued. It was weird enough to see Elsa at her own house the other night, seeing her out in public like this is even stranger. Just like at school, there's a tense set to her shoulders and she looks like she's trying to take up the least amount of space possible.

She's wearing the same type of clothes she usually does—slim-fitting jeans and a plain v-neck shirt. Not exactly conservative, per se, but also not what Anna would call summer clothing. Perhaps if she gets to see what Elsa looks like in shorts, this whole gardening thing will be worthwhile.

Elsa appears to be sizing her up as well, eyes cataloging her threadbare clothing and baseball cap before moving back to her face. "We're here to get coffee grounds for the garden. I wanted you to bring the bag back to my house." She's back to sounding as prim and proper as her 'Ice Queen' nickname implies, which is a bit disappointing. Anna was hoping she'd still be flustered and stuttering like she was last night.

"Coffee grounds?" she asks in confusion, "What good would those do?"

Elsa shifts slightly in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. "It can be used as compost," she explains as if it's completely obvious. At Anna's blank look, she sighs and continues, "Compost feeds the soil, and so the plants placed in that soil grow better. The grounds here are free, which is why I wanted us to meet here."

Anna deflates slightly at that. "Oh. So...we're not getting anything to drink?" she asks almost plaintively. It's  _hot_ outside and the AC in the store isn't enough to cool her down.

Elsa arches an eyebrow. "You... want coffee?" She seems suspicious, like Anna just asked her for a blank check.

Anna flashes her a hopefully charming smile. "Only if you're buying." When Elsa glares at her, she shamelessly pulls out the sympathy card. "Oh come on! I biked three miles to get here and you still want me to take coffee to your house. That's like another two miles! Cut a girl some slack."

That seems to knock Elsa off balance. "You don't have a car?" The obvious confusion in her voice makes Anna wonder what kind of world she lives in.

"No, I don't have a car," Anna answers, a little less friendly now. "I have thrift store clothes and a bike that skips gears. I live in an apartment with no backyard and bars on the windows. So yeah, maybe I don't know the first thing about gardening. I don't mind helping you since it was my fault to begin with, but don't treat me like an idiot for not knowing about flowers or coffee grounds."

Somewhere during that speech, Elsa's mouth had fallen open slightly. Anna's never seen her look so off kilter and she feels a vague sense of satisfaction for causing that reaction.

But then she  _blushes_  of all things, and offers Anna a timid smile. "I'm sorry," she murmurs. "I didn't mean to be presumptuous. What would you like to drink?"

 _Great_ ,  _now she's buying me one out of pity_ , Anna thinks as checks out the menu board and tries not to look affected by that adorable smile.  _Ahh well, still better than no coffee._ "A medium iced mocha with extra whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, if that isn't too much to ask for."

When Elsa gives her yet another disbelieving look, Anna throws her hands up in exasperation. "What, am I supposed to get a coffee 'as black as my soul'? Please," she huffs, "I thought you were trying not to be presumptuous."

"I apparently have to work on that," Elsa acknowledges, standing up and walking over towards the ordering area. "I suppose my view on you has been influenced a bit by my dad. He...doesn't have the highest opinion of you."

Anna follows her over and cants her head in agreement. "I don't blame him. We're two opposing forces—light and dark, good and evil, Thor and Loki."

"And which are you in each of those comparisons?" Elsa asks glibly before placing her order and requesting some coffee grounds.

"I suppose it depends on your perception," Anna says lightly. "According to your dad, I'm the root of all evil and have been sent to earth just to make him suffer."

"I don't know if I'd go  _that_ far…" Elsa hedges, but there's a playful light in her eyes that seems to agree with her.

Anna's drink is up a minute later, along with a large trash bag full of grounds. Anna grabs her drink and hefts the bag up experimentally. "Jeez!" she blurts out, surprised by how heavy it is. "You really want me to bike all the way to your place with this? It weighs like twenty pounds!" The weight wasn't the real problem but rather the trash bag itself; Anna can picture it getting ripped open against her bike and spilling across the street.

Elsa has the grace to look embarrassed. "I thought you had a car," she says under her breath. Straightening slightly, she says, "How about I drive us over to my place? I can drop you back here after we're done for the day."

Anna nods, knowing she'd be an idiot to pass up that offer. "Sure, sounds good."

They head outside, Anna enjoying the taste of her ice cold, chocolaty beverage. When Elsa stops in front of a navy BMW, she can't help but snort. "Nice wheels, Anders."

Elsa grimaces in her general direction as she unlocks the doors. "It was a birthday present."

"Of course it was." Anna slides into the car, admiring the wood paneling and leather seats.

They slip into silence as Elsa backs out of the parking lot, but Anna can feel the other girl peering at her every now and then. "If you want to say something, go ahead," Anna says as she turns to look out the window. Elsa is starting to make her feel self-conscious.

"It's nothing," Elsa says softly after a few moments. "You're just...different than I thought you'd be."

"I sure hope so," Anna replies easily, unbothered by her revelation. "Like you said, your dad has some pretty strong opinions on me."

A small laugh tumbles from Elsa's mouth. Surprised at the sound, Anna turns to look at her. She  _never_ thought she'd hear Elsa Anders laugh—didn't really think she was capable of making the sound to begin with. Elsa begins to talk, not seeming to notice Anna staring at her. "Every time you've done something, he always says you're 'subversive, destructive, unapologetic'."

Anna rolls her eyes, not terribly surprised by his choice of words. "Adjectives, all of them tiring," she drawls.

She had hoped the phrase would make Elsa laugh again, but instead she practically slams on the brakes at a red light, jolting both of them forward. "Where did you hear that?" Elsa asks her tightly, humor gone and replaced by a look bordering on astonishment.

"I don't know, some book I read a while back," Anna says, bewildered by Elsa's sudden shift in attitude.

Elsa just nods stiffly and continues driving, leaving Anna to wonder if she said something wrong.

* * *

_Cold Mountain._

Anna Kicklighter of all people has read  _Cold Mountain_  enough to reference it in casual conversation. And she said she read it a long time ago, while Elsa is just forging through it now because of her dad's prodding. Just how many more times will Anna surprise her?

The entire trip to the coffee shop had been almost surreal. All the expectations she had laid at Anna's feet had been upended, overturned. She loved chocolate drinks. She smiled easily and often. She was interesting to talk to and well-read.

She was...so much more than the labels her dad placed on her.

The labels her classmates put on her also seemed unfounded, at least to a certain degree. The only time Elsa ever saw her at school was in the hallways or cafeteria. She was always talking animatedly to her ragtag group of friends, gesturing wildly with her hands.

But everyone outside of that group spoke about her in hushed whispers behind her back. They said Anna had up to four different knives hidden away in her leather jacket, that she smoked on the rooftop when she should be in calculus, that she beat up underclassmen for looking at her wrong…

Elsa stops herself from continuing down that line of thinking—apparently Anna Kicklighter had been on her mind for longer than she'd care to admit.

Silence still hangs heavy in the air by the time she pulls into the driveway, and Elsa knows she's to blame for it. And so she hesitantly clears her throat. "Can you grab the bag?"

Anna shrugs silently, undoing her seatbelt and reaching towards the backseat for the coffee grounds. Elsa pointedly ignores how the action makes her shirt ride up and exposes part of a smooth hipbone.

Hefting the bag into her lap, she cocks an eyebrow at Elsa. "So...where do you want this to go?"

Elsa's fingers dig uncomfortably into her jeans as she processes the question.  _Coffee...she's talking about the coffee. Get ahold of yourself._ "The backyard, obviously," she nearly snaps, too focused on trying not to blush to control her voice.

Instead of letting the response bother her, Anna gives her an amused grin. "Sure, sure. I'm in your indentured servitude after all, Ice Queen." She exits the car even as Elsa gapes at her.

She's already marching down the brick path towards the backyard when Elsa catches up with her, now genuinely annoyed. "What did you call me?" She had heard that stupid phrase thrown around school, but never to her face.

Anna stops suddenly, causing Elsa to bump into her. Without apologizing, Anna cranes her neck back to look at her. "It's your nickname at school," she answers without hesitation, "Apparently you give off some kind of regal, 'don't fuck with me' aura."

"Is that so?" Elsa says in a carefully measured voice. Being on  _this_ side of rumors and gossip isn't very pleasant, even if the nickname itself isn't all that bad.

"Yep!" Anna says cheerfully as she continues walking, either oblivious or ignoring Elsa's agitation. "You kind of seem...beyond everyone, I guess. It must be nice not having people bother you all the time."

 _That_ knocks the wind out of Elsa's sails. There was no sarcasm in Anna's statement, no hint of mockery. She genuinely seems to think Elsa is alone by  _choice_.

Which...which is true, of course. But only because no one interesting wanted to come near her thanks to her dad. "And what about you?" Elsa inquires, recalling her thoughts from earlier. "People seem to think you're some kind of badass rebel."

Anna gives her a considering look before unlatching the gate leading to the yard. "People will think what they think. I mean, we're in high school; there's bound to be a lot of inaccuracies flying around. Not that I'm  _not_ a badass rebel," she's quick to add, "Because I totally am." She chortles at herself as soon as she finishes the sentence, leaving Elsa to wonder if she's being serious about any of this.

"So it doesn't bother you at all?" Elsa presses. "You don't care what people think about you?"

"I care what my mom thinks, I care what my friends think. Beyond that…" Anna frowns thoughtfully before shrugging. "I guess I don't really give a shit."

"That certainly explains a lot," Elsa says tartly, though she can't help but feel a stab of envy. Life would certainly be easier if she didn't have to worry about what her dad thought about her, or if she wasn't bothered by stupid rumors.

Anna lazily lolls her head from side to side, taking in the backyard. Elsa pretends she doesn't notice the quickly-smothered smirk on Anna's face when she notices the toilet paper still hanging off the tree. "So where's this new garden gonna be?"

Elsa opens her mouth to respond before abruptly shutting it.

Oh, god.

She was so eager at the prospect of getting coffee with Anna that she forgot she didn't even have a new garden planned out yet. The longer Anna looks expectantly at her, the dumber Elsa feels.

"I…" Elsa closes her eyes for a moment. Okay, calm down, calm down. She can salvage this. Opening her eyes again, she asks, "Where do you think it should be?"

Anna looks completely surprised. She lowers the bag of grounds to the ground and shakes some feeling back into her arms as she thinks of an answer. "Oh, I don't know...I guess it wouldn't be good to put it near the old garden, right?"

Elsa nods even though it would probably be completely fine there. Anna's eyes narrow in thought, and she looks strangely serious about this. "And it probably shouldn't be too near the patio either. How about…" she points a finger towards the opposite side of the yard, "there?"

"Why that spot in particular?" Elsa asks, wondering what's going on inside Anna's head.

Anna repositions her hat on her head. "I dunno, I guess it gives off good vibes. Plus," a crooked grin breaks across her face, "the next time I break in here, the garden would be too far away for me to ruin."

Elsa shoots her a withering glare, trying not to let that smile get to her. "'Next time'?"

"Heh, I'm just kidding. Probably." Anna suddenly clears her throat. "Anyways! Does that spot work for you?"

"It's not completely terrible," Elsa concedes, though she's relieved Anna was able to quickly resolve the issue. "Let's take the grounds over there."

Anna groans as she picks the bag up again, and trudges towards the area. Elsa trails behind her, head swimming with how much she still has to plan for the new garden. The area would have to be marked out, the grass removed, the rocks and debris dug up before they could even think about adding the compost...

"Are you free tomorrow?" Elsa asks once the other girl sets down the bag again.

Anna leans against the fence and wipes the sweat away from her face. "Sure, I guess. Are we already done for the day?" It would be ridiculous to think Anna sounded  _disappointed_. Surely she had other, more illicit activities to take part in. Why would she want to stay here?

"There are other matters that require my attention today." Elsa winces at the aristocratic tone of her voice.

Indeed, Anna snorts in an unladylike fashion. "Sure," she huffs, "you must have many royal events to attend. I'm sorry for keeping you occupied."

"Oh, shut up," Elsa says, even as she pretends to ignore the smile Anna is giving her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Cold Mountain reference Anna made was a play on chapter four's title: 'verbs, all of them tiring'.


	3. Chapter 3

Making a garden is...unexpectedly hard. Perhaps it's just because Anna isn't known for her fantastic upper body strength, but she quickly learns that yardwork is not her thing.  _At all._

What makes it even worse is Elsa. Not like she's actively making anything difficult—actually, it's the exact opposite; she's digging with a sort of single-minded determination, making almost twice as much progress as Anna. It's starting to make her feel inadequate, to be perfectly honest.

At least she gets to see what Elsa looks like in shorts and a tanktop, and it is really nice...and really,  _really_ distracting.

She has surprisingly toned legs, the muscles of which tense under her alabaster skin every time she hefts a dirt-laden shovel out of the ground. Her cheekbones are an adorable rosy red and she exhales softly with each effort. The tops of her shoulders are lightly freckled, and her  _collarbone_...Anna never thought she had a particular interest in that body part, but Elsa's look absolutely gorgeous. Anna's eyes track a rivulet of sweat dipping into the hollow of her neck before it meanders further south, disappearing under her shirt—

"I didn't ask you here so you could stand around," Elsa's annoyed voice breaks her reverie.

Anna quickly averts her gaze, glad her cheeks are already flushed from exertion and not from  _completely checking out Elsa Anders._ Well, whatever. She's a healthy teenage girl with  _eyes_ , of course she's going to occasionally ogle an attractive person.

"So sue me, I'm not cut out for manual labor," she retorts after regaining her bearings. She takes off her hat and lets her hair fall around her shoulders so she could make a quick ponytail. She notices Elsa following the motion, but ignores it. "This shit is hard."

"Yes, which is why I wanted you to help me," Elsa says irritably. Her own hair is twirled into a bun, though a few strands have come loose to frame her face. "Can you remind me who exactly is responsible for ruining my previous garden?"

"Alright, alright," Anna hold her hands up in surrender. "No need to be so sassy."

Elsa simply glowers at her, and Anna responds with a sunny smile before returning to digging just to annoy Elsa a little more. At least they were almost done for the day—Elsa had plotted out the area and they had spent most of the morning pulling up the grass and digging out rocks, roots, and other debris. The last step would be to sprinkle yesterday's coffee grounds over the area.

After ten more minutes of digging, Anna leans on her shovel and points towards the house. "Could I bother you for a drink?"

Elsa lifts one last pile of dirt out of the ground, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm. "You're already bothering me, but I want a drink too."

Anna follows her lead towards the house, taking off her sneakers before entering the gloriously-cool space; even  _she_ can be civilized if she really wants to. She scans the place with interest and a little envy; the floors are all dark wood and thick rugs, and the kitchen Elsa is heading towards has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Anna—with her denim cut-offs and frayed band shirt—feels painfully out of place, and for a moment she wishes she and her mom lived in a place as nice as this.

She silently slides into a stool opposite of Elsa, who had busied herself with getting a couple of glass out of a cabinet. "Do you take ice with your water?"

Anna just shrugs, leaving it up to Elsa. As long as it was cold and liquid, she'd take anything. The freezer whirs as it dispenses ice, and a few moments later Elsa places a cup in front of her—one that's almost entirely composed of ice cubes, with only an inch of water at the bottom.

" _Seriously_?" Anna asks, exasperated. For whatever reason, Elsa is still hot-and-cold around her, though today she's definitely sliding more towards the 'freezing' side of the scale. It seems like every step forward they take, Elsa moonwalks back to where they started. Anna's at a loss of what to do— _she_ hasn't acted any different since first meeting Elsa the other night, so she doesn't know what exactly is bothering the blonde.

But whatever, two can play that game.

Anna plucks one of the ice cubes out of the glass and pops it into her mouth, crunching on it as loudly as she can. She hides a smirk when one of Elsa's eyebrows twitches in agitation.

"So," she says between crunches, "what's your old man up to?" The cursory look she had given the place didn't reveal any principals lurking around the corners, but perhaps he was upstairs, just waiting to get the jump on her...

"Why, are you worried?" Elsa asks, taking her place on the other side of the table.  _Her_ glass has the perfect ice-to-water ratio, which is just rude.

"Of course I'm worried!" Anna freely admits, waving away the question with a lazy hand. "He's likely to kill me if he realizes I'm in his kitchen, drinking his water, corrupting his pride and joy."

Elsa chokes on her water. "You're not  _corrupting_ me—"

Anna shoots her an impulsive smirk. "Not yet, I'm not." Though she can't deny how fun it'd be to see Elsa loosen up, to hear her laugh again, to feel that smooth skin under her lips—

Ah, well. She probably shouldn't wander too far down  _that_ road, even if she thinks it would be quite an enjoyable trip.

Elsa doesn't seem to notice how Anna's smirk has turned just a little softer. "He's out of town for some conference," she eventually mutters, staring down at her glass. "He won't be back until this weekend."

Something about the way she says the words sucks the fun out of Anna, and her smile fades. Elsa's holding herself differently than she has before—her shoulders are stiff with unhappiness, a contemplative frown settles on her face, and her eyes refuse to leave her glass. She just looks  _sad_ , and frankly it's bothering Anna.

Whatever's causing Elsa's mood today, Anna would bet good money her dad is behind it. "Hey," she says, leaning across the table towards her, wanting to inexplicably cheer her up. Elsa finally looks up, eyes widening at the sudden lack of distance between them. "You have a smudge of dirt on your face…"

She reaches her arm out, hand coming slowly towards the smudge so Elsa can have time to smack her away. But Elsa stays perfectly still except for the bobbing motion her throat makes when she swallows hard. Anna's hand reaches its destination, brushing aside a lock of hair and rubbing at the dirt on her temple in an attempt to make it fade away.

Maybe it's just Anna's imagination, but Elsa's eyes seem to flutter shut for a moment before she jerks away, nearly toppling over in her chair. "I can clean my own face," she snaps, but her quickly reddening cheeks betray her real feelings about Anna's action.

Anna simply grins as she leans back, one of her hands victoriously clutching Elsa's glass. She pointedly takes a sip from it, enjoying both the taste of actual, liquid water and the total surprise on Elsa's face. "You're right, my bad."

Elsa stands up and crosses her hands over her chest, glaring at Anna. "Let's get back to work," she tells Anna before she stomps towards the backyard.

Anna trails behind her, satisfied that she was able to distract her from whatever was making her unhappy. But somehow, she feels like her work isn't done yet. As she grabs her shovel and resigns herself to sore muscles and smelly clothes, she plans how she can get Elsa to smile again.

* * *

Elsa collapses on her bed, exhausted. The first part of the garden was complete, though at the cost of her skin burning under the sun despite all the sunblock she applied throughout the day. Even Anna's skin, which was a few shades darker than her own, wasn't spared the sun's wrath; Elsa swears she saw at least fifteen new freckles spring up across her arms and face. Not that they were a bad additions, just...noticeable.

She grabs a pillow and puts it over her face, stifling a groan. Alright, so she  _noticed_ how good the delinquent looked in those cut-offs and raggedy shirt. She'd like to blame it on sunstroke, but even she's not in that much denial. Everyone at school knows Anna Kicklighter is good looking despite—or perhaps  _because_ —her beauty is unconventional.

Her freckles would look like a mottled mess on anyone else, but Anna  _owns_ them, has never once tried to cover them up. That auburn hair of hers is usually an unruly mess, even if it's occasionally held back in a ponytail or twin braids. Her smile is crooked, tilting more towards the right than maybe it should, and one of her front teeth is just the slightest bit chipped.

But those bright teal eyes are undeniably gorgeous, and are probably responsible for getting her out of trouble countless times. And of course the rest of her body is equally nice—

Elsa tosses the pillow at the ceiling and catches it when it falls back towards her. Stupid. This is so  _stupid_. The last thing she needs is a hopeless crush on a troublemaker who's only helping her as a way to buy her silence.

The thought sobers her, and she wonders if there was some truth to her dad's words about Anna. Surely she can't be so...so fun and charming and interesting without a catch. Not that Elsa really wants to accept that he might be right about something now.

She scowls deeply, relieved he's currently out of the house. Over dinner last night, he held yet another one-sided 'discussion' with her about what her college major would be. Engineering or architecture were her only options, at least as far as he was concerned. He refused to hear her arguments about degrees in environmental science or forest resources conservation, had actually pounded his fist on the table to silence her.

" _Those are the only two degrees I will pay for,"_ he had said firmly, unclenching his fist,  _"and I'm tired of you pushing this 'save the forest' nonsense."_ Elsa retired to her room shortly after that, her dinner left untouched on the table.

Even now, she couldn't stop fuming over his words. It's  _her_ future, isn't it? How dare he just blow off what she wanted to do with it. She wouldn't be pigeonholed into some degree and occupation just to make him happy. There were scholarships she could apply for, or maybe she would work her way through her degree instead of accepting her dad's money—

A crash, followed by the sound of broken glass echoing down the hall, jolts her from her thoughts. She's out of her bed in an instant, heart beating fast. Was there an intruder in the house? Did someone from school come to vandalize the house again?

As quietly as she can, she opens her closet door and takes out her old field hockey stick, prepared to defend herself should anyone come through her door.

Unexpectedly, a light tapping sound rattles her window. Whatever is making the sound is repeated, this time with a little more force. Lowering her hockey stick, Elsa side-eyes the window suspiciously. After only a moment of hesitation and against her better judgement, she brushes aside her curtains and looks outside.

The glow of the full moon illuminates Anna, who's about to throw an item in her hand before spotting Elsa. She drops what appears to be a rock to wave both of her hands over her head.

_I should have known._

A sigh of relief passes through Elsa, but she's still angry from being startled. "What the hell, Anna?" she hisses when she opens her window.

Anna shrugs like the situation is out of her hands. "I was trying to get your attention! I didn't know which window was yours, so—"

"So, what? You were just going to break all of them?" Elsa pinches the bridge of her nose and peers over to the damaged window. "I think that was the one in my dad's room."

There's no mistaking Anna's pleased laugh for anything else. "Ha, oops," she says, not sounding the least bit remorseful. "Can I come up?" she asks after a moment, grin still firmly in place.

Elsa gives her a critical once-over. The other girl is wearing a pair of dark jeans and a gray tanktop, and a longsleeved plaid shirt is tied around her waist. Her arms fold over her chest as she waits for Elsa's response.

"Why?" Elsa questions her. There's a zero-percent chance Anna just wants to talk with her; whatever has her coming over here at this time of night is bound to lead to trouble one way or another.

"Okay, then you can come down," Anna says, unperturbed. "I have a surprise for you, but you'll need to drive us there."

"First you break a window and now you want me to drive you somewhere?" The gall of this girl is simply unbelievable. Still, Elsa's only human and the word 'surprise'  _does_ pique her interest.

Anna's hands fall to her sides, and she looks like she's a second away from stomping her foot against the ground in impatience. "Oh, come on. Just trust me for once, this will be really fun."

Despite her feelings about the other girl, Elsa still has absolutely no reason to trust her. Which is why it's something of a surprise to hear herself say, "I'll be down in a few minutes."

But perhaps she shouldn't be too surprised; the very idea of spending more time with Anna is a tantalizing one. Then there's the fact Anna came  _here_  just to see her—not for gardening or causing trouble.

Elsa quickly changes into a nice shirt and a pair of shorts she just bought. Going over to her vanity, she touches up her lips with some lip gloss and makes sure her hair looks alright. Giving herself one last re-affirming glance, she heads out to meet Anna in the backyard.

She's made herself comfortable on the patio steps, stretching out her long legs in front of her. She tilts her head back towards Elsa when she makes her appearance known. "Ready?" Anna asks, looking like an excited puppy.

"Sure," Elsa sighs, because she can control herself enough to not be totally obvious about her crush.

They walk around the outside of the house, and Elsa looks around in curiosity. "Did you walk here?" she asks, noting the lack of Anna's blue bike in the vicinity.

"I ran, actually," Anna replies breezily. "The chain snapped on my way home earlier. But it's not a big deal," she quickly adds when Elsa's eyes widen, "it's a nice night and I prefer running anyways."

Elsa's mind flashes back to their coffee shop meeting, where Anna had said she biked three miles to get there. Her house was a couple miles beyond that, and Anna didn't even look winded, though her cheeks were flushed an adorable red and there's a light sheen of sweat covering her body.

"Have you ever thought about trying out for cross country?" Elsa asks, half-serious, "Since you're already so good at running from the law."

Anna turns and gawks at her, clearly not expecting her to Have a sense of humor. She's silent as Elsa unlocks the car doors and they slide into their seats. It isn't until Elsa starts backing out of the driveway that Anna speaks up. "I know you meant that as a joke, but that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Elsa's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. Was Anna Kicklighter actually taking her advice on something? She distracts herself from this startling revelation by asking an important question. "Where exactly am I taking us? Because I don't feel comfortable knocking over mailboxes or lighting anything on fire."

"What kind of delinquent do you think I am?" Anna asks, sounding scandalized. "I'll give you the directions, but this is a  _surprise_ , so I'm not gonna tell you anything else."

Elsa keeps her eyes on the road, but her smile is directed towards Anna. "You know," she muses after Anna tells her to take a right turn out of the neighborhood, "you could have just texted me earlier. There wasn't a need to knock on my window with rocks."

That action could be misconstrued as  _romantic_ , which Anna certainly didn't seem to be. Besides, it wasn't as if Anna liked her that way anyways, but she  _did_  like her enough to surprise her in the middle of the night, so that was something to hold onto.

Anna shifts in her seat to better face Elsa. "This was kind of a last minute idea. And actually," Elsa glances over at Anna in time to see her frown, "I don't know why I decided to pelt your house with rocks. That was weird of me."

Elsa rolls her eyes, because 'weird' and 'Anna' were becoming synonymous to her. But she is enjoying how easily words flow between them. Even earlier—when she was in a bad mood—they knew just what to say to one another to keep the conversation going.

Or at least they did until Anna went and touched her face. What had that been about? The sensation of Anna's fingers against her forehead made her want to lean forward and kiss that lopsided grin right off the troublemaker's face—

"We're here!" Anna chirps next to her, causing her to come back to the present. "Just park wherever there's a space."

Elsa must have been unconsciously following Anna's directions, and she takes in their surroundings; they're still in a residential area, though the houses are even more extravagant than the ones in her neighborhood. On one side of the road, there's a giant, wrought-iron fence spreading the length of the entire street and beyond. Behind the fence, the ground is heavy with freely growing trees and shrubs.

Elsa carefully parallel parks and steps out of her car, eyes narrowing in thought. "Are we…"

With the fence behind her, Anna dramatically spreads her arms out. "Welcome to the Arendelle Arboretum and Botanical Garden, after dark edition!"

Slowly, Elsa walks over and touches one of the fence posts. Anna...she really brought her  _here_? She hadn't visited the gardens in  _years_ , even though it used to be one of her favorite places when she was little. One of the only things Anna knew about Elsa was that she liked plants—what better place to bring her than here?

"Well?" Anna asks anxiously, lowering her arms at Elsa's lack of reaction. "Do you wanna go inside?"

"I'd love to," Elsa says softly. But reality crashes through her haze of elation. "Wait, isn't it closed?"

Anna waves away her concern. "It's no big deal. I have a friend who works here; he said we'd be fine."

 _That's not a real answer._  Elsa casts her gaze between Anna and the fence. "We're already here, so I guess—"

"Great!" Anna exclaims before Elsa can change her mind. "This fence looks super easy to climb, so just follow my lead and we'll be over in no time."

With that, she latches onto the fence and scales it so quickly even Spider-Man would be impressed. She's on the other side in no time, ushering Elsa forward. "Okay, so step here," she points at a potential foothold, "and put your hand up there…"

In a much more hesitant and wobbly fashion, Elsa makes it over the fence and turns to face Anna, almost bumping into her. Anna beams at her with something close to pride in her eyes and reaches for her hand, tugging her along as she begins to walk into the trees.

It's only after a few steps that Anna suddenly drops her hand with a muttered 'sorry', though her pace doesn't slow. Elsa stares down at her hand. The flash of warmth from Anna's palm hadn't been unwelcome, but perhaps Anna remembered her reaction in the kitchen this afternoon and didn't want to agitate her. Elsa curses her past self; if she had hadn't snapped at Anna earlier for wiping the dirt off her face, they'd still be holding hands.

That (frankly ridiculous) thought is whisked away after the two of the clear the underbrush and emerge into the botanical garden. The moon's glow has painted everything silver, from the winding brick path she and Anna are now on, to the wildflowers and plants surrounding them.

"Wow," Elsa breathes, surging ahead to see everything the garden contained. In one moment, she's crouching down to identify a flower, and in the next she's nearly skipping steps, hopping off the path and onto the manicured lawn just because there's no one to stop her from doing otherwise.

 _This is amazing_. There's no one else around, no slow moving photographers or giant, mob-like tour groups. The grounds are  _hers_  and she can see whatever she wants, when she wants. She leads Anna through the swampy aquatic gardens, the small bamboo forest, and even the tropical greenhouse.

For her part, Anna seems to be content with staying in the background. Elsa sneaks a few glances at her; Anna alternates between looking around herself in mild interest, her hands stuffed in her pockets, or staring at Elsa, gauging her reactions to each new area. It almost seems like Anna is making sure she's enjoying herself and there's even a small, almost wistful smile on her face instead of her usual broad grin.

"Are you having a good time?" Anna asks her the next time their eyes meet. "This is pretty cool, right?"

Elsa feels compelled to drift closer to her. "It really is," she assures Anna when there's only a few feet separating them. "This is so...so  _nice_." Just a few days ago, 'nice' was the last word she'd used to describe Anna. But this surprise, this seemingly selfless present, is possibly the nicest thing anyone's ever done for her.

Anna swallows, uncharacteristically timid. "Ah, that's good. You seemed like you were in a bad mood earlier and I...I don't know," she directs her gaze towards the ground as she mutters her next words, "I wanted you to feel better."

Something warm swells in Elsa's chest and she reaches out towards Anna. She doesn't know for what end—to embrace her, to  _kiss_ her?—but she's interrupted by a beam of light flashing towards them, followed by the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

Anna stiffens at the sight, and without a second's thought she pushes Elsa into the nearest bush before jumping in after her. They land with matching grunts, and Elsa's about to complain when Anna pushes a finger against her lips, looking out towards the garden.

"Don't speak yet," she whispers urgently, "I think that's a security guard."

Elsa shoves Anna's hand away from her face, causing the other girl to lose her balance and topple closer to her. Anna ends up with her hips bracketed between Elsa's legs, their chests pressed together in a way that elicits a shiver from Elsa. Their faces are so close that she can make out all the individual freckles dotting the bridge of her nose, can smell the bubblegum Anna must have been chewing earlier.

Elsa feels heat emanating from her face but does her best to speak. "I—you...you said your friend let us in!" she nearly hisses back, turning her face to the side so she won't accidentally brush her lips against Anna's.

Anna pushes herself back up so there's at least a little more space between them, but she doesn't get off of Elsa. "I might have over-exaggerated when I said 'friend'," she admits, not looking the slightest bit bothered by their positioning. "What I  _meant_ was that I don't actually know anyone who works here."

Elsa bites back a retort when the flashlight and footsteps come closer to them, until the person is practically right next to their little hideout. After a few tense moments, the person moves on, heading off in the direction of the greenhouse.

Anna sighs in relief, and again the smell of bubblegum wafts over Elsa. She tilts her head back towards Anna, looking into her eyes. "You're nothing but trouble, aren't you?" she murmurs, impulsively tucking a loose strand of hair behind one of Anna's ears.

"I told you I'd corrupt you," Anna responds softly, a teasing grin on her face. "How does it feel to be a rule breaker?"

Elsa expels a laugh that rolls through her body. "How much trouble would we have gotten in if we got caught?"

Anna carefully considers the question. "I mean, I'd try to shorten my time by telling them this was all your idea. So you'd probably be looking at like, ten years in supermax."

"What a harsh punishment," Elsa plays along, an easy smile coming across her lips. "Would you come and visit me?"

Unexpectedly, the question causes Anna to blush. She stills,  _finally_  becoming aware of the fact that she's completely on top of Elsa. "Well, I umm…" she starts, biting at her lip. "I think they only allow conjugal visits, so…"

Ah, so  _that's_ what caused such a reaction. Seeing the normally cocky Anna so flustered is unspeakably cute, but Anna is quick to get off her after the words leave her mouth. She offers Elsa a hand and helps haul her up, absentmindedly brushing leaves off the back of her shirt.

"Ready to go home?" she asks, checking her phone for the time. "It's starting to get pretty late."

"Sure," Elsa responds and they start to walk towards her car. She can't help but be a little disappointed in leaving, even if they've been here for a few hours. Perhaps she could come back some other night and  _really_ be thorough with her exploration of the garden. "Thank you for taking me here."

And in the boldest move she's made in her life, she takes ahold of Anna's hand, brushing her fingers against the back of Anna's palm. The other girl looks down at their interlaced fingers in surprise, but then smiles, giving Elsa's hand a light squeeze in return.

 _I'm falling for Anna Kicklighter_ , Elsa realizes, dazed. But for once, she doesn't panic or dismiss the thought outright. Instead, warmth once again fills her chest and it's all she can do to keep holding onto Anna's hand as she leads them through the silver-dappled trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Arboretum and Botanical Garden is based off the one in Los Angeles. Arendelle is based off the city, as it is one that has rich and poor living quite close together in some places, as well as having hot (but not overwhelming) summers.


	4. Chapter 4

" _It might come as a surprise, but things are rough all over."_

Anna looks up from her dog-eared copy of  _Tartuffe_ when she hears the iconic line, taking in the scene of Ponyboy and Cherry at the drive-in. When she was younger, she always thought the two characters should have ended up together.

Sure, Ponyboy was a little rough around the edges but what greaser wasn't? And Cherry Valance...Anna used to have the biggest crush on her. She was beautiful, kind, and yet could stand toe-to-toe with anyone who tried to put her down for being a Soc.

Now that she thinks about it, Elsa kind of reminds her of Cherry. She's definitely gorgeous, so much so that Anna doesn't know how she failed to really notice her in school. Sure, they ate in the same cafeteria and walked the same halls, but Elsa never pinged on her radar before.

And she  _definitely_  isn't intimidated by Anna, which is oddly refreshing. Most people outside her circle of friends tended to avoid her (or in the case of freshmen, cower in fear). It got kind of tiring after a while, truth be told. But Elsa's different; she had no qualms about throwing an acerbic remark or withering look in her direction.

And...she wasn't afraid to hold her hand last night.

That had been the craziest thing of all, because that's definitely a romantic gesture, right? Though if she thinks about it, spending hours walking around a moonlit garden is  _also_ romantic, so what did that say about her?

A piece of popcorn sails towards her, making contact with her cheek. "Earth to Anna, is anyone there?" Hans asks. He's lounging in his seat, lazily flicking popcorn into his mouth as he awaits her answer.

Anna shoots him a playful glare. "Yeah, of course I'm here!" She stretches out across two seat cushions, glad they're spending some time at Hans' place—the Sorveigs have the coolest home theater ever.

"The question had to be asked; you haven't read a single page in the last fifteen minutes," he points out, though his eyes are now back on the screen. Anna is one of the few people who knows his favorite movie is  _The Outsiders_  and will sit with him almost any time he has it on, even if her attention is usually elsewhere.

He fires another piece of popcorn in her direction, and she responds by pelting him with M&Ms. "You never did tell me how your gardening thing's been going," he says after successfully catching a piece of chocolate in his mouth. "Does Little Anders have you working day and night?"

"Nah," Anna replies, shaking her head. "It's actually kinda fun. Except for the sunburn I now have." She frowns at one of her painfully reddened shoulders.

Hans raises a skeptical eyebrow. "So she isn't giving you any grief? I figured she'd be acting like a tyrant, bossing you around to do this and that."

"She's not like her dad," Anna says, idly flipping through her book. "She may not even like him all that much."

"Hmm," is Hans' only response, possibly a little disappointed she doesn't have any good stories to share with him. She doesn't intend on telling him about their visit to the botanical garden—it seems  _personal_ , special. Telling anyone about it might take some of that specialness away.

They're both silent until the movie finishes, though they occasionally fling snack food at each other when the moment calls for it. As the credits roll, Hans says, "My parents are going to be gone this weekend."

"Cool," Anna grins. The words are code for 'I'm throwing a party'. Hans' parties were the best Arendelle High had to offer, and Anna sometimes wonders if his parents left the house specifically so he could throw them.

"And Charlie said he'd provide alcohol, so that's one less thing to deal with. Stop by around ten on Saturday night," he tells her as he stands up and switches off the movie. He changes it to display a fighting game Anna hasn't played in years and hands her a controller. "Now, ready to get your ass kicked?"

Anna sticks her tongue out at him. "Unlikely," she boasts, scrolling through the character options and selecting a guy with tattoos and spiky hair. As her character squares off with Hans', she can't help but ask him something that's been on her mind all day. "What would you think if I joined the cross country team in the fall?"

The idea is a tantalizing one. She's always been brimming with energy, twitchy and eager to move. When she was younger, her teachers always complained about how much of a handful she was. They still do, just for different reasons.

There's a pause, with only the exaggerated kicking and punching noises from the game being heard. "Isn't that the sport where people run through mud?" Hans asks, distaste practically dripping from his voice.

Anna rolls her eyes. Despite being her partner in crime, he does tend to be a bit on the snooty side due to his upbringing. "Yes, Hans. That's exactly what it is," Anna deadpans. "So wouldn't it be perfect for me?"

Hans' character lands a killing blow on hers, and she hastily chooses to replay the match before he has a chance to gloat. "It doesn't matter to me," he answers, mashing his buttons with more force than strictly necessary. "Go ahead and do it if it's something you'd be interested in. Though I am wondering why you're bringing this up in the first place."

"Well…" Anna hedges. "It was something Elsa said yesterday. I think she was joking, but she kind of suggested I try out for it."

Hans takes his attention off the game to stare at her. "You're thinking about taking  _her_  advice?"

And with that, Anna's character kicks his head clean off.

"Yep," she says simply, leaving Hans to sputter and pick a new fighter. "And I think I might invite her to the party. She's pretty cool." The words are said without a thought, and she's about to take them back before she realizes that she  _means_ them. It would be fun to see Elsa at a party, even more so if she could get her to dance.

"Okay, what's your angle with Little Anders?" Hans asks, determined to win this round. "Are you planning on stringing her along and breaking her heart? Dating her to piss her dad off?"

"What, no!" Anna exclaims. But she takes her time to think her answer over. Her eyebrows furrow and she slowly says, "I think I just...like her." Something settles inside her with the admission, and she smiles in relief.

She likes Elsa. Not in a purely physical way, but she likes how riled up she can make her, she likes how easy it is to talk with her, and she likes making her happy.

Hans gives her a considering look before shrugging and turning back to the game. "Huh, okay. Good luck then."

It's that simple—Hans has no interest in judging who Anna might want to date, and he's not going to be bothered by the fact that the person in question is the principal's daughter.

Anna knew he was her best friend for a reason.

She punches him gently in the shoulder, and if she lets him win the next round...well, that's not something he needs to know about.

* * *

"So how long are we gonna be here for?" Anna asks after banging her head against  _another_ hanging pot. She scowls at the object in question, muttering curses under her breath.

Elsa suppresses a smile at the sight. "As long as it takes to find all the seeds and bulbs I want."

Truthfully, she's already lingered longer than necessary just to spend more time with Anna. Last night seemed like some sort of fever dream, something she may have imagined in the twilight between sleep and wakefulness. Even now, she can't picture herself  _unlawfully entering_ the botanical garden. But with Anna it seemed almost like it was the  _right_  thing to do at the time. Maybe Anna was onto something when she said she'd be corrupting her. Elsa doesn't feel as bothered by that fact as she probably should.

Anna certainly doesn't seem to be acting any different; she's just as energetic as usual, happy to occasionally push Elsa's buttons as they look through all the plants in the flower shop.

"What is this one?" Anna points at a potted bunch of white-and-pink flowers. "I saw a lot of these ones last night."

"Those are stargazer lilies," Elsa responds after giving them a quick inspection. "Do you like them?"

Anna nods, not taking her eyes off the flowers. "Stargazer…" she mumbles. There's a dangerous gleam in her eyes that Elsa is already beginning to recognize. Anna had an idea, and it probably involved another illegal activity.

Before Elsa can ask about what she's thinking, Anna turns away to fiddle with some of garden gnomes on display. "You should really get a few of these guys," she suggests, poking the creature's belly.

"And why is that?" Elsa asks, amused.

"To scare away anyone who might want to ruin the garden like a complete ass," Anna answers after a moment of thought. She finally looks directly at Elsa, her smile fainter than usual. "I don't think I ever properly apologized for the damage I caused to the original garden." Her head dips down and she scuffs the floor with her shoe. "So...I'm sorry."

Elsa can't help but run a hand up Anna's arm. "I forgive you," she says simply. A smile curves onto her lips. "You've been very helpful with the new garden."

It's true; despite some occasional grumbling, she put more than a half-hearted effort into her digging the other day, which was frankly unexpected. And there weren't any complaints when Elsa asked for her assistance at the flower shop.

But...the garden would most likely be done by the end of the day. All they needed to do was finish the barrier around the area and place the new seeds and bulbs in the ground. What would happen after that? Would Anna leave her life as abruptly as she entered it? Would she pretend she never knew Elsa once school started again?

She glances over at Anna, who's chatting with the shopkeeper, waving towards the gnomes and trying to haggle over their price. Just about all the rumors Elsa heard about her were false, so surely she wouldn't treat Elsa as someone who wasn't 'cool' enough to hang out with...right?

"I think I'm done," she says, interrupting Anna. "We can bring these back to my place and plant them." She tucks away the item she's going to purchase for Anna, determined to give it to her whether or not she ever saw the other girl after today.

Anna blinks in surprise. "Oh, okay." She turns and smiles at the shopkeeper. "You win this round, but I'll be back with a better offer."

Once all the new plants are secured in the trunk of Elsa's car, they head back to her house and start the tedious process of figuring out where each plant will be. Elsa, who would normally be able to plot a garden in no time at all, is going much slower than usual. By the time the first half of the plants are in the ground, the sun is starting to set.

Elsa stares up at the sky and wipes some sweat away from her brow. "It looks like we won't get done today after all," she says, though she can't force herself to sound disappointed by that admission.

Beside her, Anna just nods. She doesn't seem disappointed that she has to come back another day. In fact, that troubling look is back in her eyes.

"I was just thinking…" Anna starts as she takes off her gloves.

Elsa narrows her eyes in suspicion, because surely nothing good can come from that statement.

Her gloves off, Anna flexes her fingers and continues, "I was just thinking that you have like, a  _really_ nice roof. I bet you can see all sorts of stars from up there."

"I've never tried to go on the roof before," Elsa admits, not terribly fond of heights.

Anna waggles her eyebrows at her, looking ridiculous. "Wanna give it a try?"

Elsa studies Anna, wondering what she wants. "I suppose we can," she says before she realizes what she's agreeing to.

But it's too late to back out now—Anna's face positively light up. "Cool, let's go!" she says happily, walking off towards the house.

She waits for Elsa once she takes her dirty shoes off, revealing mismatched socks. "Which way to your room?"

Elsa takes her shoes off as well, swallowing a lump in her throat. Anna was going to be in  _her room_ , where her book and and posters and  _bed_ are. She tries especially hard not to think about that last item, because 'Anna' and 'bed' don't need to be thought of together.  _At all._

She leads Anna through the house and up to her room, closing the door and trying not to feel self-conscious about her pale blue bedspread or the motivational sayings pinned on the walls. Against her will, her eyes slide over to her desk, where Anna's bouquet sits. The flowers are already starting to bloom, healthy and strong. Elsa imagines them clenched in Anna's determined grip as she broke into her backyard for the second time that day.

Anna looks around in interest before making a beeline to the window and sliding it open. She peers out of it and then steps out onto the roof without hesitation. A pleased sound leaves her throat. "This is really neat, Elsa!"

Elsa sighs and pokes her head out the window, not surprised to see Anna already laying down against the slate shingles. Before she can think better of it, she follows Anna's example and starts to climb out her window.

But as she gets one leg out, she hears the front door open and close. She nearly loses her balance, though she manages to haul herself back inside instead of becoming a splatter on the porch below. "My dad's home!" she hisses when Anna gives her a questioning look.

Anna's eyes widen and she sits up and scrambles back into Elsa's room. "What am I supposed to do?"

Elsa's having a hard time thinking—heavy footsteps are sounding on the stairs, and it probably won't be long until he reaches her room. It would be stupid to ask her to jump off the roof, right? "Just—just hide in my closet!"

She opens the door and practically shoves Anna into the space, having never been more glad to have a walk-in closet than now. Anna topples against something lacy, accidentally pulling it off its hanger and taking it down with her.

Anna holds up the item in front of her, an impish grin on her face despite the situation. "When are you planning on wearing  _this?_ Because—"

Elsa slams the door shut, refusing to acknowledge that Anna just  _had_ to land against her one and only piece of negligee.

Not even ten seconds later, her dad knocks on the door. "Elsa, can we talk?" he asks, deep voice muffled by the wood.

"S-sure," she says, opening the door. Her dad looks more disheveled than usual, his tie is loose around his neck and his hair is ruffled. "You're back early."

He rolls his eyes. "The last few days of the conference are for sight-seeing Corona or participating in team-building exercises. I opted to fly back instead."

Of course he wouldn't want to relax and enjoy a few days off work. "Oh," Elsa replies, not sure what to say.

He surveys the room and sits at her desk. "I wanted to apologize for the way I came across at dinner the other night," he says carefully.

Elsa just stares at him. As unexpected as it was for Anna to apologize, it's even more so for her dad. Was he having second thoughts about letting her choose her own major?

He tiredly runs a hand through his hair. "I just don't think you realize how little you could do with those...degrees." He says the last word like it's a placeholder for something lesser and he doesn't want to anger her.

Her heart sinks. This isn't a real apology, this is just him wanting to get his point across. Proving her assumption, he continues on, "I'm not saying the environment isn't important. It's just with a degree in architecture or especially engineering, you can go much farther in life."

"I don't want to be an engineer, dad," she says, trying not to let her temper get the better of her, "and I don't want to be an architect. I'd be miserable."

He shakes his head. "You would love it," he argues, "You're so good at math and I've seen your drawings—"

"Those stupid sketches were for an art class, it doesn't mean I want to be an architect! You're just seeing what you want to see." Her voice is too loud and she knows Anna can hear all of this, but she doesn't care.

"Fine, Elsa," he stands abruptly. "I don't know if this is some kind of rebellious phase you're going through, but you're too young to know what you want from life."

"And you know what I want?" she fires back at him, stung by the unfairness of his words. "After this year, I won't be another student of yours—you won't be able to dictate my life and push me into something I have no interest in." She breathes heavily, surprised at how she talked back to him.

He clearly wasn't expecting this much of an argument, and he shakes his head in disappointment. "You're starting to sound like Kicklighter or one of her friends. They have no respect for authority and mark my words; they won't be going very far in life."

"I'd rather go through life happy than miserable," Elsa says quietly, resolutely, "and if that means I have to go against your advice, then I will." At that, something that sounds suspiciously like a squeak comes from her closet. "I'm tired, dad," Elsa says when he opens his mouth. "We can talk more about this tomorrow."

Despite clearly wanting to stay and argue his case, he leaves her with a stiff nod, closing the door behind him and stomping towards his room. Elsa releases a shuddering breath. She had never said such things to him before, even though she desperately wanted to.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she opens the closet door. She expects a smarmy remark from Anna, or at least some kind of insult directed at her dad as she comes back into the room.

Instead, Anna's lips are settled in a thin line. She looks unhappy, almost  _angry_ , as she paces the length of Elsa's room. Elsa just sits on the bed and watches her, unsure of what to do in the wake of that conversation.

Anna finally speaks up, her voice is barely above a harsh whisper. "To hear him talk—and he talks all the goddamn time—there's nothing you can do that's not a crime." She stops pacing when she's right in front of Elsa. "He rails against everything, doesn't he?" she asks softly.

Elsa stares at her, urging her eyes not to get teary. The stress from dealing with her dad and the worry from wondering if Anna will still want to spend time with her after gardening threaten to crash down on her. "He's difficult sometimes," she manages to say, sniffing.

Anna places her hands on Elsa's shoulders. "You were right though; you  _should_ do what makes you happy. From the sound of it, you're still going to college. It's not your fault he's such a control freak."

Elsa nods, marginally comforted by the words. "I'm sorry he said those things about you and your friends," she murmurs. "It wasn't fair."

Anna shrugs like it doesn't matter. "There was some truth in there," she admits. Then her eyes narrow and in the most determined voice Elsa's ever heard, she says, "But I can go as far in life as I want to. We're the ones in control of our lives, not the adults who push and prod us to go where they want us."

There's a pause, and then Anna releases Elsa with a small smile. "Anyways, umm...we'll be done with the garden tomorrow, right?"

Elsa feels as dazed as if someone hit her over the head. "Yeah, it probably won't take too long. My dad will be away during the day, so come over when you're free," Elsa responds once she regains her bearings.

"Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow. And don't worry," Anna adds when seeing Elsa's expression. "I'll sneak out quietly."

She makes her way to the door, but hesitates before she touches the knob. Turning quickly, she walks back to Elsa and brings her into a crushing hug. Startled, it takes Elsa a moment before she's able to return the gesture, and she loops her arms around Anna's back.

"Hang in there," Anna whispers against Elsa's hair. "It's only another year. Then you'll be off at school and you can do whatever you want."

Elsa smiles into Anna's neck. "I don't think it will be that easy; he's still my dad." She reluctantly breaks the hug. "But thank you, I mean it."

They stand awkwardly for a moment before Anna clears her throat. "Right, well. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Elsa silently walks with her until they reach the backyard, and then waves at Anna as she climbs over the fence.

Back in her room, she prepares for a long, hot shower. Once she's under the spray, she can't help but recall the sensation of Anna's arms around her. The other girl was so supportive, so sweet, earlier. She seemed so determined to make sure Elsa knew she could do whatever made her happy. She  _believed_ in her, and she didn't try to talk down to her at all.

It makes Elsa believe she really can pave her own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anna threw in a Tartuffe quote during her bedroom conversation with Elsa. The original lines being, "To hear him talk – and he talks all the time –there's nothing one can do that's not a crime. He rails against everything, your dear Tartuffe." Check out the book, its humor (much like The Importance of Being Earnest) ages very well. Just make sure it's the Wilbur translation!


	5. Chapter 5

"Notice anything different?" are the first words out of Anna's mouth when she sees Elsa the next morning. She meaningfully shakes her head, allowing her hair to fall around her.

Elsa examines her closely starting with her feet, making Anna's face heat up a little. Her mouth drops open when her gaze reaches Anna's face. "You did  _not_."

Anna beams. "Yep!" She tugs at the bleached locks of hair near her forehead, pleased with her work. "What do you think? It's like a physical manifestation of how very, very sorry I am."

Truth be told, she doesn't feel all that sorry about the destruction of Elsa's garden. If it weren't for that damn bleach bottle, she wouldn't be here right now, wouldn't feel like her chest is filled with butterflies whenever Elsa looks at her.

"It doesn't count," Elsa grumbles good-naturedly, crossing her arms over her chest. "It looks  _good_."

"Damn right it does!" Anna beams, putting her hat back on. "So, are we ready to finish or what?"

Elsa's amusement fades and she stares down at the garden they've made together. It's almost an exact replica Elsa's first garden, right down to the placement of the plants. It's oddly fulfilling to see all their hard work amount to something, and it's even more rewarding to see how happy Elsa is with the whole thing.

"Right, we'll be finished soon," Elsa says after a moment, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as if she wants to add something. She leans down instead, reaching for a trowel.

Anna mimics the motion, snatching the trowel and making sure it's out of Elsa's reach. She thinks she knows just why Elsa is reluctant about finishing the garden. "You gonna miss me after this?" she asks, though instead of the teasing tone she was going for, the question comes out soft and genuine.

Elsa's cheeks pinken and she looks up at Anna with those gorgeous, storm-blue eyes. "What if I will?" she asks in return, equally serious.

"Then…" Anna begins, trying to keep herself from closing the distance between them and just kissing her already. "Then I'd like to invite you to Hans's party on Saturday. As like, a date."

 _Yes_. She mentally high-fives herself for putting the 'd' word out there. Now Elsa will know she likes her as more than a friend. And she hadn't been misreading things, right? Unless she was hallucinating, Elsa seemed to like her just as much.

A heartbreakingly beautiful smile begins to break across Elsa's face, but then it abruptly fades, replaced with worry. "My dad's home now."

Anna raises an eyebrow, unable to see how that fact related to what she had said. "Okay?"

Elsa's eyes drop to the soil between them. "He's not going to let me go to a party," she mumbles. " _Especially_ if he knows you'll be there."

"Then sneak out," Anna says like it's obvious. "You were able to sneak me out last night without a problem. Put a few pillows under your comforter and say you're going to bed early. Then when he's in his own room, you can meet me out here. Hans doesn't live too far away, so we won't need to take your car."

Elsa's eyes widen in something like admiration. "Wow, you've done this a lot, haven't you?"

Anna shrugs. "I used to, back when my mom was in nursing school. Now she usually works evening or night shifts, so it's not really an issue." Her mom also seemed content to let Anna roam free as long as she didn't get into too much trouble. But she didn't want bring that point up; it would just serve to highlight how much of a hardass Elsa's dad is in comparison.

"I think I'd like to go," Elsa says after turning the idea over. "It sounds like it'll be fun."

Anna's smart enough to realize this will probably be the first party Elsa's ever gone to that didn't involve balloon animals or bouncy castles. She'll make  _damn sure_ Elsa has a good time.

"Then it's a date," she declares, and Elsa's pleased smile is all it takes for her for feel like she just won the lottery.

They get back to work soon after, Anna talking animatedly about whatever is on her mind. She can sense Elsa stealing glances at her every now and then, and sometimes it's enough for Anna to lose her train of thought and stumble over her words.

Anna whoops when Elsa pats the soil down around the final strawberry plant. "This gardening thing isn't so hard after all," she says with a shit-eating grin.

Elsa rolls her eyes, used to her sarcasm by now. "Could you stay here for a moment? There's something I want to give you."

Anna raises her eyebrows in curiosity. "Sure, and I won't even destroy anything."

As Elsa hurries back into the house, Anna sprawls out next to the garden, admiring the plants. In a few months, they'll probably be in full bloom. She'll definitely have to come back and see them.

Elsa comes back a few minutes later, clutching a brown paper bag. Situating herself next to Anna, she hands her the bag. "This is a 'thank you', of sorts." She sounds nervous as she watches Anna's hand dip into the bag. "Wait, careful!"

Her words come too late and the tip of Anna's fingers prick against something sharp. "Fuck!" she exclaims, quickly withdrawing her hand. A bead of blood wells up on her middle finger and she shakes the pain away. "Are you sure this is a 'thank you' gift?" she grouses.

"I'm sorry, I was about to tell you to open it from the side," Elsa says, worry filling her eyes. She catches Anna's flailing hand and wipes away the drop of blood on her finger. After a moment of consideration, she leans down and places the tip of Anna's finger into her mouth, sucking gently. Her lips stay there for a moment, and Anna swears she feels the soft pressure of Elsa's tongue against her worried skin.

Anna swallows hard, forgetting the pain, as Elsa releases her hand. "Here," Elsa beckons for Anna to return the bag, acting as if she didn't just do the sweetest thing Anna's ever seen.

Anna mutely places the bag between them, trying to stop her pulse from pounding in her ears. Man, if this is her reaction to Elsa kissing her finger, she can't begin to imagine what it will be like to  _really_ kiss Elsa…

The sound of the bag being ripped open startles her, and she blinks hard, trying not to slip into any inappropriate daydreams. Elsa throws the bag to the side and holds out a potted cactus.

The ceramic pot has been carefully painted in different shades of green, and the cactus resembles one she used to see in the old  _Road Runner_  cartoon; the main body is tall and thin, with two 'arms' sticking out of either side. At the base of the cactus, nestled amongst the rocks, is a small red-and-blue clothed gnome.

"Oh, Elsa," she breathes, oddly touched by the gesture. "This is awesome."

Elsa smiles, relieved by Anna's reaction. "I figured even  _you_ could take care of a cactus. Just don't give it too much water and it'll be fine."

Anna hesitantly grabs the base of the pot when Elsa hands it to her, hugging it as close to herself as she can without getting pricked again. "Thank you."

She stands up, careful to keep the cactus level. "I'm going to show my mom," she says, grinning, "I'm sure she'll love it too."

Elsa follows her up, and they linger together in silence for a moment. Before she can think better of it, Anna leans in and presses a kiss to Elsa's cheekbone. It's light and quick, leaving Anna wanting more. "I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Elsa touches her cheek and nods slowly, looking like she's thoroughly distracted. "Sure," she murmurs. "See you then."

Anna flashes her one more grin and heads out of the backyard, this time using the gate instead of trying to clamber over the fence with her new cactus.

_Tomorrow can't come soon enough._

* * *

Possibly the scariest thing about Anna Kicklighter is how easily she can convince Elsa to do...well, just about anything. 'Break into the botanical gardens, ''Come to a party', and 'sneak out of your house' were never phrases Elsa was familiar with before she came across Anna trying to plant flowers in her garden.

But now she's following her advice, fluffing up her pillows and carefully placing them under her bedspread. Her pillow doppelganger is quite a bit rounder than she is, but her dad has never been one to check on her while she was sleeping—he never had a reason to, and hopefully Elsa won't be giving him one tonight.

Once she quietly closes and locks the front door, she texts Anna. An anxious hand comes up to smooth away any wrinkles on her shirt, and she hopes she's dressed decently enough. Her skinny jeans are almost brand new, as is the soft black shirt. The clothes suit her figure perfectly, and she even put on her nicest bra and underwear on to give herself a boost of confidence.

Not even ten minutes pass when Anna skids to a stop in front of her house, having been running down the street nearly full-tilt. Elsa snorts at the sight; if Anna had a decent pair of running shoes instead of the worn-out Chucks she was wearing, she could probably crack a few Arendelle High records.

"Hey," Anna greets her once she catches her breath. Under her arm is the leather jacket Elsa often saw her wear at school. Her hair is as tamed as Elsa's ever seen it, tied carefully into two braids, and her hat is nowhere to be seen. Her black shorts stop mid-thigh and the forest-green of her shirt makes her eyes stand out even in the dark.

"Hi," Elsa responds, suddenly shy. A rush of nerves goes through her, and she is a breath away from asking if they could go somewhere other than the party.

But then Anna looks her up and down, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "You look great."

"You too," Elsa says honestly, because she can't remember a time Anna  _didn't_ look great, even back when she knew nothing else about her.

Anna extends a hand to her. "Shall we? Hans lives a little less than a mile and a half from here. The party should be in full swing by the time we arrive."

Exhaling and settling her nerves, Elsa nods and clasps Anna's hand. "Let's go."

The walk goes by quickly enough, with Anna giving Elsa a few pieces of advice about how the behave at the party.

"Never let your drink go out of your sight, and don't accept a drink from anyone but me or Hans."

"Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to. This is supposed to be fun."

"If someone tries to hit on you, shoot them with those laser eyes of yours and they'll probably run away."

Anna's motormouth slows to a stop when they reach a house at the end of the cul-de-sac. It's  _huge_ , and Elsa can already hear throbbing, bass-heavy music coming from within. Anna squeezes her hand. "You ready?"

Elsa nods quietly. This won't be a big deal. Not at all. Teenagers went to parties all the time. Parties are  _fun_ , and Anna's going to be by her side for most of the night, so she doesn't have a thing to worry about.

Anna leads her up the driveway and opens the front door without knocking. The sounds of yelling and cheering combined with the music make the inside of the house almost deafening, and almost all the overhead lights are off, replaced with strobe lights.

A few people shout out Anna's name as she and Elsa pass by them, and she waves in return. Her hand never lets go of Elsa's, making it clear they came together. She can see a few people lean close to each other and whisper, their eyes on Elsa. She keeps her head tilted up and her eyes forward, not wanting to appear affected by their stares.

Anna leads her to the spacious kitchen, where almost all flat surfaces are covered in different alcoholic drinks or plastic cups. "You want anything?" Anna asks, plucking a cup from a teetering stack, quickly pouring Sprite and a blue liquid into it.

Elsa swallows hard. One drink wouldn't be the end of the world, right? "I'll have whatever you're having," she yells over the music.

Anna flashes her a thumbs up and hands her the first cup, busying herself with another serving for herself. "The blue stuff is curacao and it is  _delicious_. You'll love it." She crashes her cup into Elsa's. "Cheers!"

Elsa tentatively takes a sip, surprised at how fruity it tastes. She takes a few more gulps and grins at the warmth unfurling in her stomach. Oh, she could get used to this.

"Do you wanna dance?" Anna asks, pointing her cup towards the living room. All the furniture in the room is pushed to the walls, creating a makeshift dancefloor. It looks like half of Arendelle High's soon-to-be graduating class is there, bobbing their heads to the music or grinding against one another.

"I'm not really a dancer," Elsa admits. The idea of looking like a total idiot in front of her classmates isn't very appealing to her.

Anna takes another swig of her drink and winks. "If I show you some of my moves, maybe you'll change your mind."

Elsa nearly chokes. Anna is shamelessly flirting with her, and she imagines how Anna must look when she's on the dancefloor, how her hips would look when she's swaying to the music, how—

"Alright," she says, surprising herself. "If you impress me, I'll dance with you."

"Challenge accepted!" Anna crows. She takes a nearby bottle of vodka and pours some into her cup. She tosses it back, lips puckering cutely as the alcohol slides down her throat. "I'll wow you in no time."

Elsa grins around the rim of her cup, following Anna towards the dance area. This will be  _good_. She hangs out along the back wall with a few people she vaguely recognizes from English or Biology. They squint at her as if she looks familiar to them, but the looks don't bother her this time. Instead, she raises her cup towards them. Grinning they do the same.

"This is my  _jam_!" Elsa hears Anna's excited voice from the dancefloor. Expecting (and hoping) to see some sort of sexy, seductive moves coming from Anna, Elsa's mouth drops open.

What Anna is doing is certainly  _not_ sexy, but it's still impossible to look away. To the beat of the song and with no signs of embarrassment, she dances like no one's watching. It's an  _experience_ watching her, an amalgamation of dance moves that should probably be banned.

For a few seconds, she twirls her hips, arms pumping up and down. The she's strutting around, looking suspiciously like a peacock before she pretends she's holding a shopping cart and picking groceries off imaginary shelves. Then it's onto the 'lawn mower' and the 'sprinkler head'; moves Elsa hasn't seen in action since elementary school.

Despite the sheer ridiculousness of her moves, Anna somehow manages to look  _good._ There's unbridled delight radiating from her body, an infectious grin on her face. Even when she does Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' dance towards Elsa, she pulls it off.

"Hey, you're Elsa, right?" A voice sounds from Elsa's side. As she turns to see who asked her that, a pungent, herbal smell hits her with full force. A blond boy with a red beanie looks expectantly at her, a carefully rolled joint in one of his hands. "I'm Kristoff."

Elsa nods hesitantly, because whatever he's smoking is  _not_ legal. He leans in closer to her, and the smell of marijuana is almost overwhelming. "Do you wanna hit?"

 _Is this going to turn into an after school special?_ Very nearly whispering, she answers, "I don't like the smell."

Instead of pushing the matter, Kristoff shrugs good naturedly. "It's not for everyone, but nice meeting you anyway." He turns his attention towards a guy on his other side, passing him the joint and gesturing towards the crowd of people.

Elsa sighs in relief, glad her first interaction with drugs went smoothly. Her dad would be so proud.

Anna chooses this time to return, face flushed and happy as she leans against the wall next to Elsa, sliding in between her and Kristoff. "So, are you wowed yet?"

"Oh, I definitely am," Elsa responds dryly, even if it means she'll have to dance too.

"Then let's dance, dance!" Anna tugs on her hand, drawing her towards the other dancers. Her hands drift down to Elsa's hips. "Shake your moneymaker!"

Elsa burns in embarrassment, but the feeling isn't as pronounced as it was before. She tries rocking her hips side to side to the song, but it takes her a few moments to find the rhythm.

"That's a good start!" Anna shouts, laughing. "But try to roll your hips a bit more. Like this." And then she rocks her hips in a circle, the move sexy enough for Elsa to just unabashedly  _stare_ at her for a moment.

Trying to keep herself together, Elsa copies the move as best as she can. Anna cheers in response, and then pulls her closer. Mouth hot against her ear, Anna says, "Now try doing that with me."

Anna guides Elsa's hands to rest on her shoulder, and then she places her own hands against Elsa's hips. They're still for a moment until they find the rhythm, and then it's like there's no one else around them.

Their hips brush tantalizingly close together, and then they're pulling at each other, drifting closer and closer. But right as their noses brush, the song changes to 'Baby Got Back', and the dance space is suddenly much more crowded.

Ducking her head with a smile, Anna makes her way out of the living room and back into the kitchen for another drink. When she offers one to Elsa, she easily accepts it, the liquid cool and refreshing after the hot crowd of people and Anna's breath against her neck.

Anna wipes at some sweat on her brow, casting her gaze out towards the backyard. "Do you wanna go somewhere?" she abruptly asks Elsa. "It's not too far away."

"Umm, sure." After seeing her dance, Elsa is down for just about anything Anna might want to do.

They head towards the front door, and it isn't until they're outside that Elsa realizes something. "Where was Hans? You said this was his party, right?" She expected the auburn-haired boy to be lording over the party, mingling with everyone and playing bartender.

Anna rolls her eyes. "I almost never see him at his own party. He's always 'occupied' with some cheerleader or dancer in his room." She shudders and makes a face. "Trust me, you do  _not_ want to walk in on him."

Elsa doesn't know what to say to  _that_ , but it does make her wonder about Anna's level of...experience. She probably has an encyclopedic knowledge of how to successfully date someone, how to flirt, how to kiss.

Elsa doesn't. She's kissed one boy before, and that was at a stupid middle school dance. He had used  _way_ too much tongue, and had been bad enough that Elsa wasn't eager to try it again anytime soon.

But now, confident from the alcohol and with Anna leading her on another adventure, she wouldn't like anything more than to kiss her senseless.

* * *

It's so very convenient that Mr. Weselton lives only a block away from Hans. He and Anna have taken advantage of their teacher's luxurious pool on numerous occasions, never once getting caught.

As fun as the party was, Anna wants to spend a little more alone time with Elsa. Now that she knows how Elsa's hands feel around her neck and her hips feel when they're grinding against her own, Anna  _definitely_  needs to cool off.

Arriving at his house, Anna quietly opens the gate leading to his backyard and ushers Elsa inside. Elsa is certainly less hesitant than she was in the past, not even questioning whose house this is. But Anna had been monitoring how much alcohol she had during the night, and it was just enough to get delightfully tipsy from.

"Are you up for some night swimming?" Anna whispers, closing the gate behind them.

Elsa stares at the pool in question, finally realizing this may not be strictly legal. "Do you know whose pool this is?"

"Weselton's," Anna responds easily. The man was universally disliked at school, even  _Elsa_ probably didn't like him.

Proving her point, Elsa narrows her eyes. "He gave me a B-plus in his class because he didn't like my final presentation on androgenic alopecia."

Anna slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "Why the hell would you do a presentation like that? Everyone knows he wears a toupee!"

Elsa shrugs, but an amusing glint enters her eyes. "He said to pick a historically significant disease. It was a bit of a stretch, but I thought he'd at least be able to relate to it."

"Yeah, a little too well," Anna mutters, amused. It seems like Elsa had the makings of a troublemaker in her all this time.

They come to a stop in front of the tiled steps of the pool, their reflections moving back and forth on the water. Anna leans down to untie her shoes and take her socks off, and then starts undoing her braids.

Elsa stills when Anna takes her shirt off, revealing an emerald bra. "What, were you planning on going in fully clothed?" Anna asks her with a teasing smile.

There's a surprisingly small moment of hesitation before Elsa takes off her shoes and starts to shimmy out of her pants. Now it's Anna who freezes, because  _wow_. She had seen most of those long, smooth legs before, but those slim hips are making her throat dry. And then there's the fact that her underwear is black, lacy, and hugging her behind like it's doing her a favor.

Elsa gently clears her throat, and Anna  _barely_ manages to drag her attention back up towards her. "Are you getting distracted?"

"Yes," Anna replies simply, partly because it's the truth, and partly because she can barely string a coherent thought together.

Then Elsa takes her shirt off and Anna's mind goes completely blank.

A pale and fit torso. An equally black and lacy bra. A chest that's more generous than Anna's own, and light freckles that seem to sparkle in the moonlight. "Well?" Elsa arches an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to swim."

"I...uh. I do!" Anna assures her, sliding her shorts around her waist and sliding into the pool before Elsa can see the yellow ducks printed on her underwear. "See, totally swimming."

Elsa opts to use the stairs, the water lapping gently at her with each step she takes. She looks like a fucking  _goddess_ , and Anna thinks this night swim might be the best idea of her life.

They both paddle over towards the deep end, Anna diving below the water and bouncing off the pool floor. She slicks her hair back when she comes back up, and waggles her eyebrows at Elsa. "So, is there anything you want to do?"

Her joking veneer slides away as Elsa comes in unexpectedly close. She dips her head back, exposing her neck and allowing the water to reach her white-gold hair. When she straightens, there's a look in her eyes that Anna can't tear herself away from.

Silently, they drift closer together until they're in the middle of the pool. Anna reaches out and cups Elsa's cheek, rubbing her thumb underneath her eye. "I hope you're having fun."

Elsa leans into Anna's palm. "This has been great," she murmurs, turning slightly to kiss the inside of Anna's wrist.

Anna's eyes widen at the gesture, and before she knows it Elsa is wading even closer. She swallows hard when one of Elsa's hands comes up to rest on the back of her neck. "Can I just…" Anna starts, barely able to talk but needing to ask, "Can  _we_ —"

Elsa kisses her, hard and almost desperate, their lips sliding together awkwardly before Anna re-adjusts their positioning. What Elsa lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm, and her mouth opens eagerly under Anna's, something like a whimper shuddering through her when Anna's tongue runs along her lips.

There's something hard against Anna's back, rough and scratchy. It takes her an embarrassingly long time to realize it's the wall of the pool, and then Elsa is pressing her further into it, their bodies touching almost everywhere between their chests and legs.

Elsa keeps them above water by slipping a leg in between Anna's thighs and placing her hands on either side of Anna's head, gripping at the edge of the drain as they continue to kiss.

That leg is seriously distracting Anna, but she can't help but grind against it, her moan getting lost in Elsa as the other girl gives her hot, open-mouthed kisses, breaking away from her lips to nibble along her jawbone.

"Hah, Els…" Anna pants, arching up when Elsa finds the sweet spot behind her ear. "This is ridiculous." She mumbles the last part to herself, because Elsa keeps pressing that leg against her, and it's starting to become a problem.

Anna tries to switch their positions, which causes both of them to sink under water for a moment, having lost their hold on each other. They come up sputtering and laughing, and Anna guides Elsa to the shallower end of the pool so the next morning's headlines won't read 'Local Girls Mysteriously Drown In Neighbor's Pool'.

They reach for each other once more, and the kisses become softer, sweeter. Soon they slow down to nothing, and the two of them are just holding each other, foreheads pressed together.

"I really like you, Anna," Elsa says, eyes hooded and lips well on their way to becoming swollen.

Having trained for this moment her entire life, Anna smiles and kisses the tip of Elsa's nose. "I know."

Elsa leans back slightly, squinting at her. "Did you just Han Solo me?"

"Oh, I'm going to do more than Han Solo you—" Anna's tease is cut off when Weselton's porch lights flicker on.

They quickly break away from each other, and Anna motions towards their clothes. "We can get dressed after we get outta here!" she hisses, hauling herself out of the pool. Elsa is right behind her, and they grab their piles of clothing and high tail it out of the yard right as the screen door slides open.

"Come back here!" Weselton's unmistakably nasally voice calls out, trying and failing to sound threatening. "Let me identify you!"

Anna chortles, and even Elsa laughs quietly at the their teacher. When they're a safe distance away, Anna uses her shirt to dry herself off and hops into her shorts. Elsa follows suit, though she has a harder time getting back into her skinny jeans.

It takes them a significantly longer time to get back to Elsa's house than it did to Hans' party, mainly because they keep stopping to kiss one another.

Elsa stops Anna when they come near her house. The happy flush that's been on her face drains at the sight of her house. Nearly all of the interior lights are on. With a trembling hand, she turns on her phone. From over her shoulder, Anna can see over half a dozen texts and calls from her home number.

"Shit," Anna mutters, her heart sinking. She doesn't have much of a problem with getting into trouble, but her mom is entirely different than Elsa's dad. There was no mistaking the smell of chlorine on Elsa, though at least it was masking any scent of alcohol that might still be lingering. "Do you want to come back to my place for the night?"

Elsa hesitates, then shakes her head. "No, I'll need to face him eventually. And if I'm going to...going to  _be_ with you, he should know eventually, right?"

Her eyes are so imploring that Anna has no choice but to nod. "Fine. Just...let me know how you are in the morning." She leans forward, pressing a kiss to Elsa's lips. Her dad is  _not_ going to be happy with Elsa, and he'll probably jump to all the wrong conclusions about her and Anna.

Elsa smiles tremulously at her and starts to head towards her house without a word, shoulders straight and head held high, preparing for the battle that's about to take place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truth be told, the only reason I added in Kristoff was so I could have him be a stoner. Get it? Because he grew up with stones and...oh, forget it. I thought I was being funny.


	6. Chapter 6

Anna lays on her bed, propped on her side so she can stare at the cactus Elsa gave her yesterday. She hums gently in its direction, wondering if the action will help it grow. After all, music helps babies develop, right? Maybe plants weren't much different. At the very least, humming and singing to her cactus wouldn't  _hurt_ it. It would just be weird.

She sighs, turning to stare up at her ceiling instead. Elsa hasn't texted her yet, even though it's nearly two in the afternoon. It's definitely possible that her dad took away her phone, but Anna was hoping that wouldn't be the case.

Man, she really messed things up. What kind of person thinks a  _party_ would make for a good first date? And then she just had to ask Elsa if she wanted to drink and break into Weselton's pool with her. That was so  _idiotic_. Even if Elsa didn't tell her dad the whole story, he'll probably figure out she was up to something illegal just by mentioning Anna's name.

A knock on the front door has her hopping off her bed to answer it; her mom is still sleeping off last night's shift, and any persistent knocking is likely to wake her up. Trudging out to the entrance, she swings the door open, expecting a delivery person or a solicitor.

Instead, Principal Anders looms over her, a stormy expression on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" she exclaims out of reflex. But then she remembers she's not just talking to Principal Anders now, but Elsa's  _father_ , and she tacks on a reluctant, "...sir."

His eyebrows raise slightly at that addition, since it's the first time she's ever called him 'sir' in a non-sarcastic manner. "May I come in?"

Anna swallows hard. "S-sure." She opens the door further and steps to the side, allowing him to pass her.

He gives the space a cursory look before settling in at the kitchen table. He gestures to the seat across from him, but Anna is too nervous to sit down right now. She leans against the kitchen counter, crossing her arms over her chest as if it will protect her.

He stares at her for a long moment, sizing her up. She should be used to that strong gaze being on her, but she's always the one to look away first. This time it's different though, because she knows this isn't about school. So she stares back at him defiantly, daring him to look away first.

His dark eyes briefly flicker to the counter behind her. Steepling his hands on the table, he calmly says, "I don't want you to see my daughter anymore."

Anna bares her teeth. "You have no right to come here and tell me I can't see her—"

"Yes, I do," he says, his voice carrying over hers. "Congratulations, Ms. Kicklighter. You have gotten my attention, so there's no reason to continue seeing her."

" _What_?" Anna gapes at him. "I'm not trying to piss you off by seeing her. I  _like_ Elsa. I really do. And I'm not asking for her hand in marriage, but I...she makes me  _happy_. And I make her happy too."

Anders is silent at that, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly to reassess his arguments. He shakes his head after a moment. "That's irrelevant. I don't think you would be good for her. You do nothing but cause trouble and leave other people to clean up your messes. You do the bare minimum to stay in school, and you've maxed out the amount of days you can skip your classes without being expelled." His jaw works, and he says his next words slowly and deliberately. "You're a toxic influence to those around you, and you are not good enough for my daughter."

Anna's hands shake in anger, and she clenches them by her sides, blinking hard. Damn him, he is  _not_  going to make her cry in her own home. She opens her mouth, ready to say something that will prove him wrong, when she hears her mom's door slam open.

She stomps towards the kitchen, still in her pajamas. Her face is bare of makeup, and the half-moon circles under her eyes are clearly visible. She stops next to Anna, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Anders hastily stands up, apparently expecting Anna to be alone. "Mrs. Kicklighter, I apologizing for intruding, but—"

"May I ask why you're here?" her mom asks curtly, leaving pleasantries by the wayside. While she's met with the Anders plenty of times, the two of them have never been more than coolly polite to one another. "Has Anna caused any trouble?"

Anders straightens slightly. "Not quite. It has to do with my daughter, actually." Anna's mom stays silent at that, waiting for him to continue. He shift uncomfortably and clears his throat. "I don't want Anna to see her anymore."

"And why is that?" she asks bluntly, not letting him off that easy.

Anna tilts her chin up, knowing what he's about to say. He clears his throat again. "I don't think they're well-suited for one another."

Tense silence hangs in the air.

"No." Anna stiffens at her mother's tone; she's never heard her voice sound so cold. Her grip tightens slightly on Anna's shoulder. "You do not come to  _my house_ and tell  _my daughter_ who she can or cannot see." She turns to Anna. "Do you like this girl?"

"I've never liked anyone as much as her," she answers truthfully.

"And does she like you?"

Anna nods silently.

Her mom turns her attention back to Anders. "Then I don't see a problem with them dating."

Anders frowns at that. "She took Elsa to a  _party_ last night, and I know it won't be the only time she drags her into a questionable situation. Elsa should be with someone like her, not someone—"

"Not someone like my daughter?" her mom steps towards Anders so she's between him and Anna. The move reminds Anna of a mama bear protecting her cub. "Kids will be kids, Alaric. They'll make mistakes and hopefully they'll learn from them. If Anna and your daughter like each other, it would be worse to try and split them up."

"Elsa has a future!" Anders says loudly, temper flaring. He jerks a finger in Anna's direction. "I will not have that future put in jeopardy because Anna pushes her into bad situations with bad people. She has worked too hard for that to happen!"

Anna pushes off the counter, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her mom. She's had enough of him talking like she's not here. "You don't want any future for her besides the one you've chosen!" He stiffens at that, and Anna continues, "Yeah, I know about the 'options' you've given her for school. Those would make her miserable, but you don't care."

Without pulling her eyes away from Anders, she says, "Mom, do you know what I'm going to do after high school?"

"No, I don't."

"And does that bother you?"

Her mom's arm comes back up to wrap around her shoulders. "No, honey. I know you can find somewhere that makes you happy, and I trust you to make your own decisions."

"See?" Anna says to Anders, having never been more glad to have such a good relationship with her mom. "Elsa is smart, smarter than I am. She's capable of so much. Trying to force her into something she has no interest in will just distance her from you. She would resent you for that every day."

"That's…" Anders' mouth thins into a hard line. He shakes his head like the words won't compute. "You break too many rules," he says eventually, "how do I know you won't drag her into any of your problems?"

Anna rolls her eyes. "Your teenage daughter went to a party with me, it's not the end of the world. I would never put her into a bad situation." In fact, she should probably start distancing herself from bad situations anyways. As her mom said, she won't be seventeen forever. The last thing she needs is a mark on her permanent record.

"That's not good enough," he says decisively. "I need your guarantee that you will be a better student this year. I don't want to hear any rumors of your involvement in a prank, I don't want to see your face in detention, and I don't want you to be skipping any more classes."

Anna's mouth drops open. "That's…"  _That's impossible_  is what she wants to say out of impulse. But she can see a victorious light appearing in her principal's eyes. He doesn't think she's any more than a hoodlum, and he's making the assumption that she'd rather continue to cause mayhem than date Elsa. Well, he's fucking  _wrong._

"I can't promise you zero detentions," she says after a moment of consideration, "and I can't help it if there's rumors of me being involved in things. But I'll try not to skip any of my classes."

It's clearly more of an agreement than he expects, and his eyes widen before he thinks her words over. "Fine, then no more than two detentions for the year and you must have perfect attendance."

Is he trying to haggle with her? Two can play that game. "Two detentions  _per semester,_  perfect attendance,  _and_ I'll join an extracurricular." She's planning on trying out for the cross country team anyways, so it's not much of a sacrifice on her part.

She can feel her mom's gaze on her while Anders considers her deal. After a minute, he nods and steps forward, stretching out his hand. "Fine. But if you slip back into your old ways…"

 _Then I'll still see Elsa, no matter what you say_. "Then you can yell at me some more," Anna responds with an infuriating smile, grasping his hand and shaking it firmly.

Anders nods, but he seems vaguely confused, like he couldn't possibly imagine the conversation would unfold like this. "Then I'll take my leave." He starts to walk towards the door, flanked by Anna and her mom. He's halfway over the threshold when he turns back to Anna. "I'll try not to... _interfere_  with you and Elsa." He looks slightly pained when he adds, "Just...treat her well."

"I will," Anna says quietly, knowing it will be the easiest promise she's ever made.

He nods curtly at that, eyes sliding to her mom. "I apologize for disturbing you, Lydia."

Her mom nods, though she still doesn't look happy with him. "Hopefully this will be the last time we meet under these conditions. Have a good day." And with that, she closes the door on him.

Anna expels a relieved sigh. "That went better than I thought it would."

"The gall that man had…" her mom shakes her head. "He's lucky I didn't throw him out the moment I saw him."

With her rumpled auburn hair and wrinkled pajamas, her mom doesn't look all that threatening. But she had defended Anna without hesitation and believed in her without a doubt.

Anna takes a few steps towards her mom and throws her arms around her. "I love you, mom," she says, voice muffled by the fabric of the pajama top underneath her.

"I love you, too," she says in return. After a few moments, she pulls Anna back to look at her. "And I expect this Elsa girl to come over so I can see what all the fuss is about." She smiles impishly. "Is she pretty?"

" _Mom_ ," Anna groans dramatically. "Of course she is."

Her mom slowly shakes her head. "I still can't believe it. The principal's daughter...how exactly did you two meet?"

Anna coughs, suddenly looking anywhere but at her mom. "That's an interesting story, actually…"

* * *

Elsa shifts her car into park when she arrives in front of Anna's apartment, not quite believing that she's actually here. Her dad had handed back her phone when he returned home, suggesting she go visit Anna (a suggestion that looked like it caused him to strain a muscle).

It was a complete 180 of how he was acting earlier. Last night had been...unpleasant. Trying to remain calm, she had given him sparse details of where she had been and who was there with her. He didn't really explode until she mentioned Anna, and what she meant to Elsa.  _Then_ he was angrily pacing around the room and insisting they stay far away from each other.

When he told her that he planned on 'setting things straight' with Anna earlier today, Elsa feared the worst. But here she was, and with his apparent blessing.

Just what had Anna said to him?

Taking a calming breath, Elsa turns her car off and makes her way to Anna's door. The first time she knocks, there's no answer. She knocks harder, wondering if she should have texted Anna and to make sure she's even home.

The door opens right as she's reaching for her phone, revealing a woman wearing pale blue hospital scrubs. "Hi, can I help you?" she asks with a smile.

With her hair and that smile, she could only be Anna's mom. Elsa nods politely at her. "Hi, I'm Elsa Anders. Is Anna home?"

"Ah, so  _you're_ Elsa." It seems like Anna even inherited that mischievous glint in her eyes from the woman in front of her. "I've heard a lot about you recently." She opens the door further, ushering Elsa inside. "Come in, come in."

Elsa steps into the apartment, unable to keep herself from looking around. Anna wasn't lying when she said her home had bars on the window, but the place is cozy in a way her own house isn't—the mismatched furniture and various pictures and book lying around lend the place a comforting atmosphere.

Elsa walks over towards one of the walls, drawn to a picture of Anna. She must have only been about twelve, her hands on her hips and giving the photographer a toothy smile. "She was already getting into trouble at that age," Anna's mom confides to her, "She had made a small business of helping her classmates pull out their loose teeth. Made an impressive amount of money before her teacher found out."

Elsa laughs quietly. "That does sound like her."

The woman gives Elsa a considering look. "I think you'll be good for her," she says, nodding as if coming to a decision. "And she certainly likes you."

Elsa blushes at that, but the words are good to hear. She didn't know how much the approval of Anna's mom meant until now. "She'll be good for me, too" Elsa tells her.

The woman beams at the words, looking proud of her daughter. "Well, I won't delay you any further. Anna's room is right down the hall, and if you go quietly, you might be able to hear her sing. She has a lovely voice."

Elsa raises an eyebrow at that, but needs no further prompting to head down the hallway, tiptoeing as best she can.

Anna's door is cracked open, and Elsa gently opens it further, allowing her eyes a moment to adjust to the amount of light filtering in from the setting sun. The walls of the room are nearly entirely covered in band and movie posters, with a line of fairy lights strung up over the bed.

Anna's on the center of the bed, one leg up and crossed over the other, foot bouncing slowly to a beat only she can hear. She's facing the window, and Elsa can make out the silhouette of her cactus sitting on the window ledge. Though she's facing away from her, Elsa can see that her eyes are closed.

"I watch the ice melt on the glass / while the eloquent young pilgrims pass / and leave behind their trail / imploring us not to fail," Anna sings, and Elsa almost gasps.

That  _voice_  is pure melody, light and carefree, sweet as honey. It's the most beautiful thing Elsa's ever heard. She smiles when she recognizes the song, and takes her first step into Anna's room, singing the next verse with her. "Of course I raised to gather courage from those / lofty tales so tried and true / and if you're able—"

Anna jumps up, startled, when she hears Elsa's voice accompanying her own. Then she sees Elsa, and a broad smile comes over her. "You're here!" she says happily, bounding over to her. Wasting no time, she pulls Elsa towards her. "And you never told me you could sing."

"Neither did you," Elsa counters, but then she closes the distance between them and kisses Anna fully on the mouth.

Anna squeaks in surprise, taking a step backwards and falling onto her bed. She latches onto Elsa during the fall, causing her to tumble on top of her. Anna's quick to roll them over, pinning Elsa's hands above her head. She situates herself comfortably on Elsa's hips, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"You should come with a warning label," Anna mumbles as she nuzzles into Elsa's neck. "You are way too addictive. I'd need a twenty-four step program to get you out of my system."

Elsa bites back a moan when Anna gently sucks on the sensitive skin under her ear. "W-wait," she says, struggling to remember  _why_ exactly she wants Anna to wait.

Anna pauses in her ministrations, pulling back so they're nose-to-nose. Her lips begin to quirk upwards. "Yes?"

"How did you get my dad to agree to let us date?" Elsa asks, shifting slightly under Anna.

Anna hangs her head, groaning. "Way to be a mood-killer, Els." She releases Elsa's hands and gently gets off of her, sitting on the edge of the bed. "If you must know, I promised to basically be a freakin' girl scout for the next year." When Elsa moves to sit next to her, Anna bumps her shoulder. "I suppose you're worth it, though."

"Damn right I am," Elsa teases, startling a laugh out of Anna. "Thank you though, for convincing him. I didn't think it'd be possible."

Anna shrugs, staring at her cactus. "He's just worried about you, is all. I'm not saying I like him or anything, but I can see where he's coming from."

Elsa lays down on the bed and stares up at the ceiling, smiling when she sees a galaxy of glow-in-the-dark stars and planets stuck up there. Anna lays back down too, curling towards her. Elsa mimics the gesture so they can face each other.

For a moment, she gets lost in Anna's eyes. They're almost pure teal, but from this close she can see tiny flecks of gold around her pupils. "You're so beautiful," she breathes, and maybe she's already a little in love with Anna.

Anna grins, but it's soft and genuine. She hooks a loose strand of hair behind Elsa's ear. "You're beautifuller."

Just a few weeks ago, Anna Kicklighter was nothing more than a name. A name that mean trouble and caused endless headaches for her dad. Elsa had seen her in the halls before, possibly even shared a class with her at one point.

She could never imagine a day where she'd be in Anna's room, staring into her eyes and thinking of nothing but how they'd spend the rest of the summer together. To think this all started because Anna vandalized her yard and poured bleach across her garden.

She leans forwards and kisses Anna because she can. Curls her hand around her hip because she wants to. Whispers her name because there's no one else she'd rather be with.

There's a quiet knock on Anna's door and her mom cautiously steps in. "Sorry to interrupt you two," she says, unperturbed at the sight of the two teens kissing on Anna's bed. Nonetheless, Elsa sits up and smoothes her hair back into place. "Elsa, did you want to stay for dinner? I'll have to leave soon after, but I'd love to talk to you some."

Still lying across the bed, Anna nods her agreement. "You totally should. It's taco night at the Kicklighter house. No one should miss taco night."

Elsa smiles at her. Everything seems like it's settling into place now, and she can't remember ever being happier than this. She reaches across the bed and squeezes Anna's hand. "I'd love to stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is officially the end of Cheap Thrills. However, there will be an epilogue that cuts to specific moments in time, including college. Just like in real life, there are loose ends that need to be addressed (namely, Elsa's university situation with her dad), which the epilogue will lightly cover. This story was never meant to be anything more or less than something light and fun. I hope you will revisit this story once summer comes back :)
> 
> Lastly, songs! The song Anna and Elsa sang was [Young Pilgrims by the Shins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ayVyQWD8hk). And if you lovely readers must listen to one song that fully encapsulate the atmosphere I was trying to create with this story, it would be [Coffee Talk by Broadside](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeCTDGKxJvU). Thank you for reading and I hope to have the epilogue up within the next week!


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